Articles by Ayana Birbayeva

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have signed an agreement to establish the Qazaqstan Climate Investment Platform (QCIP), a national mechanism designed to prepare climate projects for financing from international and domestic financial institutions. The agreement was signed under the GCF Readiness 3 program during the fund’s Regional Dialogue with countries of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan, Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan have signed a framework agreement to expand cooperation in the space industry, with Kazakhstan completing the assembly of the engineering model of the OTS-SAT satellite and planning its launch in 2027. The agreement was signed in Antalya on the sidelines of the 77th International Astronautical Congress, which runs…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with newly elected International Chess Federation (FIDE) President Timur Turlov on Oct. 7, congratulating him on his election and highlighting the growing international profile of Kazakhstan’s chess community. Turlov was elected FIDE president on Sept. 26 in Samarkand during the organization’s General Assembly, held alongside the 46th World Chess…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will send 150 athletes to the fifth Asian Para Games, which will take place on Oct. 18-24 in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture and the city of Nagoya, with the national team set to compete in 12 sports. The Kazakh team will compete in one team sport and 11 individual disciplines. The largest groups…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan exported a record 8.87 million tons of wheat from September 2025 to August 2026, as strong demand from Central Asian markets and Afghanistan helped drive shipments to the highest level on record, according to the Grain Union of Kazakhstan. The figure represents a 16.2% increase from the same period last year, said…

ALMATY – Turkmenistan has launched an electronic visa system and an online registration portal for foreign nationals, moving parts of the country’s migration procedures to digital platforms. The State Migration Service of Turkmenistan presented the new services with representatives of foreign diplomatic missions accredited in the country attending the event. Turkmen ambassadors abroad also joined…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered reforms in Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces after a commission investigating a military incident in the Mangystau Region revealed serious shortcomings in planning, oversight and personal safety, reported the presidential press service on Oct. 5. Tokayev held a meeting with members of the commission on Oct. 5, where its chair Aida…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s population reached 20.62 million as of Sept. 1, while Astana surpassed 1.7 million residents, according to the Bureau of National Statistics. The capital’s population increased by 9,780 people in August alone and has grown by 61,209 people since the start of the year. Kazakhstan’s total population stood at 20,618,796 people as of…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said teachers are more important than ever as artificial intelligence and digital technologies reshape education, urging Kazakhstan to strengthen human capital and adapting its schools to a rapidly changing world.  “A teacher is a key figure in every person’s life. I believe everyone would agree with this. Deep respect for…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan has made significant progress in developing a market economy and attracting foreign investment, but regulatory uncertainty, localization policies and concerns over the rule of law continue to pose challenges for international businesses, according to the United States Department of State’s 2026 Investment Climate Statement for Kazakhstan. The report, released in September, said…

ASTANA – Central Asia is emerging as an increasingly important intercontinental bridge for global air cargo, with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan recording particularly strong growth, according to a new report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The report, Central Asia’s Growing Role in Global Air Cargo Flows, published Sept. 30, highlights the region’s growing importance…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan finished the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, with 84 medals, 12 gold, 24 silver and 48 bronze, placing eighth in the overall medal standings, as the continental competition concluded Oct. 4. The result marks an improvement from the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, where Kazakhstan finished 11th with 80 medals, including…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan ranked 55th out of 98 countries in the 2026 AI-Human Skills Synergy Index, presented as part of Coursera’s Global Skills Report 2026, reported the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s press service. The new index measures how actively learners develop artificial intelligence skills alongside human competencies needed to apply them effectively, including…

ASTANA – Nazarbayev University has moved into the 376–400 group in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, improving its position by another 100 places and retaining its top ranking among universities in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The university has risen by 200 positions over the past two years. It was ranked in…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to jointly study a new railway route connecting Central Asia with Pakistan’s seaports, the Prime Minister’s press service reported on Sept. 30. The transport ministries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and the UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure signed a memorandum of understanding on…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s exports rose 27.1% year on year to $48.5 billion in the first half of 2026, helping the country’s current account move into a $2.4 billion surplus, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s Sept. 30 report. The current account recorded a $3.2 billion surplus in the second quarter alone, compared with a…

ASTANA – Air Astana plans to launch two new international routes from Kazakhstan in December, connecting Almaty with Malaysia’s Langkawi and Astana with Thailand’s Bangkok. Starting Dec. 25, 2026, the airline plans to operate seasonal direct flights between Almaty and Langkawi three times a week using Airbus A321neo aircraft, according to the Kazakh Ministry of…

ASTANA – Moody’s Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating at Baa1 with a stable outlook, citing the country’s strong fiscal position, low government debt, high debt-servicing capacity and accumulated foreign-currency assets. According to the agency, these factors give Kazakhstan flexibility in economic policymaking and a substantial buffer against external economic shocks, the Ministry of…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed creating a Kazakhstan-Germany investment and financial platform to combine German and European capital with Kazakh co-financing, guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms, as he outlined several priority areas for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries. Tokayev made the proposal during his Sept. 29 meeting with leaders of leading German…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan and China should move from individual investment projects toward integrated production ecosystems, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Sept. 25 at the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum in Almaty, outlining transport, industry, critical minerals, digitalization and agriculture as key areas for deeper cooperation. More than 600 delegates, including Chinese corporations, Kazakh businesses, government bodies and development…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s low-cost airline FlyArystan has launched regular flights on a new route connecting Almaty with Chongqing, expanding Kazakhstan’s air connectivity with China. The new service began on Sept. 23 and will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Airbus A320neo aircraft, according to the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s search-and-rescue operation in the Caspian Sea has officially ended after the bodies of two service officers who had been missing following a military exercise were found on Sept. 25, bringing the death toll from the incident to 14. The bodies were found at around 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 25 during continuous search…

ALMATY – The relationship between Kazakhstan and the United States has reached a period of “unprecedented momentum,” U.S. Consul General Peter Kaufman said at a Sept. 17 press briefing in Almaty, as Kazakhstan prepares for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s participation in the G20 Summit in Miami in December and the two sides deepen cooperation on critical…

ASTANA – The Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026) will take place from Oct. 1 to 3, bringing together AI-generated films from 125 countries and offering a combined prize and investment pool of $2.75 million, the organizers said at a briefing in Astana. More than 8,000 films were submitted to the international competition, highlighting the…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s tourism sector is entering a new stage of development as investment, visitor numbers and transport connectivity expand, with the industry increasingly positioned as a contributor to economic growth rather than simply a recreational sector. The sector’s total contribution to Kazakhstan’s economy reached 5 trillion tenge (US$9.26 billion) in 2025, while employment exceeded…