Articles by Assel Satubaldina

ASTANA – Archaeologists from the Margulan Institute of Archaeology, working with local heritage preservation specialists, discovered an ancient Turkic runic inscription in the Burkhansai gorge in Kazakhstan’s Zhambyl Region. The discovery was made during an archaeological fieldwork conducted as part of a research project on the ancient and medieval history of the Syr Darya and…

ASTANA – AIFC Insights has published the first region-wide comparative study of capital markets in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Azerbaijan. According to the report, Kazakhstan has the most developed capital market ecosystem among the four countries, supported by more than $110 billion in sovereign savings and a comparatively mature market infrastructure. The report…

ASTANA – Judicial digitalization and the protection of investor rights are becoming increasingly important areas of cooperation among Turkic states, as countries across the region seek to modernize legal systems and boost economic competitiveness, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a meeting with chairpersons of supreme courts of member countries of the Organization of Turkic States…

ASTANA – Lufthansa announced on June 18 that it will temporarily suspend flights for the 2025–26 winter schedule, marking the second consecutive year the airline has halted its winter service on the Frankfurt–Almaty–Astana route.  The company attributed the decision to its “comprehensive assessment and optimization of the route network,” reported the company’s press service.  “Particular…

ASTANA – Kazakh football club Kairat honored 17-year-old forward Dastan Satpayev ahead of his move to English club Chelsea, marking the end of a chapter for one of the country’s most promising young talents. On June 17, Satpayev made his final appearance for Kairat in a match against Kyzylzhar in Almaty as part of Kazakhstan…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has formally approved the establishment of a United Nations Regional Center for the Sustainable Development Goals for Central Asia and Afghanistan in Almaty after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a ratification law on June 17, paving the way for the first UN regional SDG center. The law ratifies a memorandum of understanding signed…

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov highlighted the urgency of deepening regional cooperation, as he addressed the fifth Tashkent Investment Forum on June 17. Speaking at the forum, which gathered more than 10,000 participants from 102 countries, Olzhas Bektenov said Kazakhstan supports deeper cooperation among Central Asian countries to unlock the region’s economic potential,…

ASTANA – Uzbekistan marked its FIFA World Cup debut with a historic milestone on June 17 as Abbosbek Fayzullayev scored the nation’s first-ever World Cup goal, but Colombia pushed further with a 3-1 victory in their Group K opener. Uzbekistan and Colombia faced off in their opening Group K match at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium…

ASTANA – Belgian heavy-lift and transport company Sarens plans to invest up to $56 million in a logistics and commercial hub near Kazakhstan’s border with China, a project that could help ease cargo bottlenecks and strengthen the country’s role as a key transit corridor between Asia and Europe, said Hannes Van Nedervelde, construction director at…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Canada are seeking to expand cooperation beyond traditional trade and resource industries, harnessing opportunities presented by emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and digital innovation, officials and business leaders said at the seventh meeting of the Kazakhstan-Canada Business Council in Astana on June 10. “Kazakhstan and Canada are separated by thousands…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the United States are deepening cooperation on aviation security, with Kazakh specialists completing training in New York on cargo risk assessment, aircraft inspections and border security procedures ahead of the planned launch of direct air service between the two countries. Kazakhstan’s civil aviation authorities and specialists from airports in Astana and…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the Netherlands agreed to move forward with joint projects worth 160 million euros ($184 million) following a business forum on June 9 during Kazakh Trade and Integration Minister Arman Shakkaliyev’s visit to the Netherlands. The forum was held as part of the GreenTech Amsterdam 2026 international exhibition, and served as the…

ASTANA – Tajikistan began the construction of an IT Hub Dushanbe complex on June 9, which is meant to become one of the country’s largest projects focused on digital technology and innovation. The total investment is expected at $100 million.  The initiative is intended to support the growth of the digital economy through investments in…

ASTANA – Lyazzat Kaltayeva, an expert and disability rights advocate from Kazakhstan, was elected to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on June 9. She became the first representative from Central Asia to serve on the body that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities…

ASTANA – ESG, which stands for environmental, social and governance, is no longer a reputational issue but a market access requirement, and companies that adapt quickly will gain competitive advantage, according to Nadira Abenova, ESG Specialist at the Export Credit Agency of Kazakhstan. The Export Credit Agency supports non-resource-based exports in priority sectors through credit…

ASTANA – The Investor Rights Protection Committee oversees more than 3,000 projects worth over 100 trillion tenge ($205.6 billion), with prosecutors assigned to help investors resolve disputes, address regulatory hurdles and coordinate with government agencies, committee chairman Bauyrzhan Yeraly said in an interview with The Astana Times.  The committee was created in December 2025 and…

ASTANA — More than 150 Kazakhstan’s peacekeepers are operating in increasingly complex security environments, facing asymmetric conflicts, blurred front lines and evolving threats that were difficult to imagine a decade ago, the Kazakh Defense Ministry told The Astana Times, as the world marks the International Day of UN Peacekeepers on May 29. The experience contributes…

BANGKOK – Kazakhstan is seeking to expand its trade footprint in Southeast Asia through broader participation in regional food and consumer goods markets, as Kazakh products are on display at THAIFEX – Anuga Asia 2026, Asia’s biggest food and beverage trade exhibition held on May 26-30 in Bangkok.  The fair brought together more than 3,100…

BANGKOK – Government officials and business leaders from Kazakhstan and Thailand met in Bangkok on May 25 to explore new opportunities in trade, investment and tourism cooperation, as both countries seek to strengthen economic ties and diversify commercial partnerships. The forum brought together representatives from government agencies, chambers of commerce and private companies to discuss…

ASTANA – Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov participated in a meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Ashgabat on May 22.  In a narrow-format session, officials discussed economic cooperation among CIS member states and approved a report on the implementation of the Interstate Cooperation Program…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Norway took a step toward deepening economic cooperation on May 21 as government officials and business leaders gathered in Astana for the second meeting of the bilateral Business Council, highlighting growing interest in trade, investment and joint projects in sectors ranging from renewable energy to aquaculture. Trade momentum  Economic ties between…

ASTANA – Would you spend nearly two weeks following one of the slowest creatures on Earth? British director Saxon Bosworth did exactly that, traveling to the Ustyurt Plateau in western Kazakhstan to capture the life of the Central Asian tortoise, a creature whose entire visible world unfolds in just a few months each year. The…

ASTANA – When Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Astana this week, the language of brotherhood between Kazakhstan and Türkiye sounded different. It was no longer centered on shared history alone, but on oil routes, drone production, cargo corridors and the shifting balance of power in the region. As the war in Ukraine drags into another…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan and Türkiye signed the Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Expanded Strategic Partnership on May 14 as the two countries moved to deepen trade, investment and transit cooperation amid growing regional shifts. The agreement was signed during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s state visit to Astana and the sixth meeting of the High-Level Strategic…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s rail and pipeline freight transport declined in the first four months of 2026, while road, air and maritime transport posted growth, according to data released on May 12 by the Bureau of National Statistics. Rail freight transport reached 110.3 million tons between January and April, down 1.1% from the same period last…