Articles by Aida Haidar

ASTANA — An international expert discussion titled Central Asia 2030: Strategic Horizons and Regional Choices was held at Astana International University (AIU) on Feb. 2, bringing together regional and international policymakers and analysts to assess Central Asia’s strategic trajectory through the end of the decade. The forum marked the first public discussion and official launch…

ASTANA — The final decision on the new Constitution will be made by the country’s citizens at a national referendum said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a Jan. 30 meeting dedicated to the Constitutional Commission’s work. The Chair of the Constitutional Commission and Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Elvira Azimova; Deputy Chair of the Commission…

ASTANA — Oil production has resumed at the Tengiz oil field, with the first well successfully brought back online early on Jan. 31, the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan reported. According to the operational headquarters, the first well, Group Metering Unit GSU-52, was restarted at 3:35 a.m. local time. Process facilities at the Pressure Boosting…

ASTANA — Over the course of 2025, Tajikistan’s gross domestic product reached a growth rate of 8.4%, which was revealed during an expanded meeting of the Government of Tajikistan, chaired by President Emomali Rahmon on Jan. 23. According to Kazinform, Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda noted that despite the complex global challenges and their negative impact…

ASTANA — In 2025, Kazakhstan’s foreign policy moved beyond tactical engagement and incremental cooperation toward a broader strategic recalibration. The year was marked not only by a dense calendar of high-level visits and signed agreements, but also by the elevation of relations with key partners to new strategic frameworks, signalling longer-term political alignment and economic…

ASTANA — State Counselor Erlan Karin said 2025 became a year of institutional consolidation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s reforms in Kazakhstan, summarizing the year in a Dec. 29 post on his Telegram channel. According to Karin, work continued to systematize domestic policy and shape a unified set of value guidelines. The adoption of a separate…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan has signed more than $70 billion in commercial agreements following international meetings this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a Dec. 25 visit to the Zhambyl Region, where he met with members of the public. “These agreements are enabling the launch of modern enterprises and the creation of high-quality jobs,” Tokayev said. …

ASTANA — While global foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 11% in 2024, Chinese investment in Eurasia continued to rise, reaching record levels in Central Asia, according to the Eurasian Development Bank’s report under its flagship Monitoring of Mutual Investments project released on Dec. 25. Kazakhstan remains the top recipient in Central Asia, with China’s total…

ALMATY — Analysts at the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) expect Kazakhstan’s economy to maintain steady and resilient growth of nearly 5.5% in 2026, while Central Asia as a whole is set to demonstrate the fastest growth rates of the past decade, according to the bank’s Macroeconomic Forecast for 2026–2028, presented at the bank’s year-end press…

ALMATY — Over the past four years, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has solidified its position as the regional leader in non-sovereign financing, with $8.8 billion in investments, representing 41% of all non-sovereign development bank investments in the EDB region. Speaking at the bank’s year-end press conference on Dec. 19, Nikolai Podguzov, chairman of the…

ASTANA — From venture capital and green startups to critical minerals, education, and cultural diplomacy, the United Kingdom (UK) is recalibrating its engagement with Kazakhstan. In an interview with The Astana Times, UK Ambassador to Kazakhstan Sally Axworthy outlined how London sees Kazakhstan’s evolving economic structure and its role in the global green transition. She…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Iran not only maintain a constructive political dialogue but are also seeing growing trade and economic ties, with trade up 40% in just ten months. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the momentum must continue during a Dec. 11 meeting with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Masoud Pezeshkian, who arrived…

ASTANA — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed the Chief Justice of Palestine and Presidential Advisor on Religious Affairs Mahmoud al-Habbash on Dec. 2 in a meeting that highlighted the deepening cooperation between the two nations, reported Akorda.  Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, Kazakhstan and Palestine have fostered a partnership grounded in friendship, mutual support, and…

ASTANA — There’s something deeply poetic about the way certain lives seem to echo the land they come from. Malik Gabdullin’s story begins on Nov. 15, 1915. He was a soldier, a scholar, a folklorist, and, above all, a humanist. The kind of man whose story doesn’t just belong to history books, it belongs to…

ASTANA — Freedom Bank Kazakhstan has unveiled a new digital service to make business management easier for local entrepreneurs. The voice-based Freedom AI Assistant, now available in the bank’s application, was officially presented to journalists on Nov. 11. The AI assistant can perform 119 commands in both Kazakh and Russian, helping users with tasks such…

ASTANA — This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of Yevgeny Brusilovsky, the composer behind Kazakhstan’s first operas and orchestral works.  His legacy includes nine operas, four ballets, nine symphonies, and around 500 songs and romances. Brusilovsky also co-authored the music of the national anthem of Kazakhstan, used from 1945 to 1992 and…

ASTANA — The panel Central Asia: Influence, Autocracy and Balancing Russia, organized by the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in London on Nov. 6, explored the shifting dynamics of the United States policy toward Central Asia under Donald Trump’s second term  Moderated by Sophie Ibbotson, consultant, writer, and researcher, the discussion delved into the implications…

November marks the 190th anniversary of Shokan Ualikhanov’s birth. The exact day is lost to history, but we know he was born in 1835, in Amankaragai village in the Kostanai Region, into Kazakh nobility. His father Shyngys was a grandson of Ablai Khan. Later, his family moved to the Kusmuryn fort, but young Ualikhanov spent…

ASTANA — The governments of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the United States, collectively known as the C5+1 countries, have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening economic cooperation within the C5+1 diplomatic platform. The understanding was formalized in a statement of intent released by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Nov. 8, marking…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Germany have strong numbers to boast of when it comes to bilateral cooperation. The partnership spans a wide range of areas, including trade, hydrogen, renewables, oil, and gas, each of which has grown significantly in recent years. In a conversation with The Astana Times, Stephan Mayer, a member of the Bundestag’s…

ASTANA — The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has unveiled its strategic vision for advancing warehousing infrastructure across Central Asia and initiated the creation of the Central Asia Warehousing Association with IBC Global, during the Central Asia Warehouse Summit (CAWS) held on Oct. 16 in Almaty, the EDB’s press service reported on Oct. 21. During the…

ASTANA — For years, Central Asia was known mostly as a landlocked region, often discussed in terms of its limitations. But according to the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), the region has proven that being landlocked is not a sentence. It is now transforming into a key transit hub of Eurasia, thanks to its strategic position…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has introduced the Samruk-Kazyna Artificial Intelligence Neural Network (SKAI), the first AI-powered independent member of a Board of Directors in the region with voting rights on Oct. 2. The system was presented by the Samruk-Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Digital Bridge Forum in Astana. According to the…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Germany have signed a joint agreement extending the Partnering in Business with Germany program for 2026–2028. The signing, held on Sept. 30 in Astana during the Extended Conference on cooperation projects, marks a new stage in bilateral cooperation to support small and medium-sized enterprises, strengthen partnerships, and expand knowledge exchange between…

ALMATY – For the first time, the World Forum of Central Securities Depositories (WFC 2025) convened in Kazakhstan, bringing together more than 200 participants from 80 countries to tackle challenges and opportunities in post-trade markets on Sept. 23-26. Hosted by the Kazakhstan Central Securities Depository (KCSD), the forum united the regional associations representing nearly 135…