Articles by Ayana Birbayeva 

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s regulated cryptocurrency market surpassed $10 billion in trading turnover in 2025, while the country ranked among the world’s top 10 by the number of applications to international Solana hackathons, highlighting the rapid development of its Web3 ecosystem. The regulated crypto market reached $10.58 billion in 2025, up from $320 million in 2023,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan presented its contemporary literature and publishing industry at the 35th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair as the country steps up efforts to promote reading culture at home and expand the international reach of Kazakh literature, the Ministry of Culture and Information’s press service reported on Sept. 21.  Kazakhstan’s delegation met with international…

ASTANA – A team of experts from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began an International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) in Kazakhstan on Sept. 21 as the country advances efforts to establish direct air connectivity with the U.S. The assessment will run through Sept. 25 and focuses on Kazakhstan’s state aviation safety oversight system.…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan won six medals, including four golds, on Sept. 20, the first full day of competition following the official opening of the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, reported the Kazakh National Olympic Committee’s press service.  Triathlete Arlan Zhanabay secured Kazakhstan’s first medal of the games in the men’s individual triathlon, finishing third…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has expanded the use of water-saving irrigation technologies to 702,300 hectares of irrigated farmland as of Sept. 1, 2026, nearly three times the area recorded in 2023, as the government seeks to reduce agricultural water losses and improve irrigation efficiency. Modern irrigation systems were used on 237,100 hectares in 2023. The area…

ASTANA – Nearly 830,000 tourists visited Astana in the first half of 2026, a 12% increase from the same period last year, as Kazakhstan’s capital expands its tourism offering and strengthens international connectivity, including through a new tourist train linking China and Kazakhstan. Of the total visitors to Astana, about 187,000 were foreign tourists, Deputy…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is set to expand international air connectivity with new and resumed passenger and cargo services linking the country with Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as airlines increase capacity on key routes. Turkish airline SunExpress plans to launch regular flights between Astana and Izmir with flights scheduled twice a week on…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s tennis team will face Thailand in a Davis Cup World Group 2 tie in Astana on Sept. 18–19, with the winner advancing to the World Group 1 playoffs. The official draw has determined the order of the singles and doubles matches at the National Tennis Center’s Arena.  The official draw for the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s National Fund is increasingly generating income not only from the country’s oil sector but also from the capital accumulated over years of resource revenues, with investment returns in the first half of 2026 coming close to the amount raised through oil-sector taxes, Kazakh economist Ruslan Sultanov writes in his Telegram channel, analyzing…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan plans to more than double its annual oil refining capacity to 39 million tons by 2040, seeking to move the energy sector toward deeper processing and higher-value products. But the scale of the planned expansion also raises a fundamental question: how will the country secure sufficient economically viable crude supplies for its…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is moving to bring a larger share of its jewelry industry into the formal economy by tightening controls over precious-metal turnover and improving access to legally sourced gold for jewelers, as the domestic jewelry market reached nearly $168 million in 2025. The rise of the production was discussed at a government meeting…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called for Kazakhstan and South Korea to double bilateral trade and deepen cooperation in advanced manufacturing, critical minerals, energy, transport, artificial intelligence and other high-value sectors. Speaking at the opening of the Kazakhstan–South Korea business roundtable in Seoul on Sept. 15, Tokayev said bilateral trade exceeded $3 billion last…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and South Korea are advancing a growing portfolio of investment and industrial projects, including 67 initiatives worth a combined $6.9 billion in Alatau City and 51 joint industrial projects, as the two countries prepare for the first South Korea–Central Asia Summit in Seoul on Sept. 16. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a series…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan ranked 38th out of 70 countries in the 2026 World Competitiveness Ranking published by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in June. The ranking, compiled by the IMD World Competitiveness Center, assesses countries based on four main factors: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency and infrastructure. Kazakhstan ranked 23rd in government…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan has built the core digital infrastructure for its financial sector and is now entering a new stage focused on developing new products, attracting new market participants and creating innovative business models, National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov said at the Central Asia Fintech Summit 2026 in Almaty on Sept. 11.  Speaking at the…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will deliver a state-of-the-nation address in October, outlining Kazakhstan’s goals and priorities for the upcoming period, he said during a Sept. 11 ceremony honoring winners and medalists of the sixth World Nomad Games in Astana. President Tokayev made the announcement at a ceremony at the Palace of Independence, where he…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi has outlined key priorities for strengthening the country’s efforts to attract foreign investment during a Sept. 10 working meeting with the leadership of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and KAZAKH INVEST. The meeting brought together Investment Committee Chairman Ardak Zebeshev, KAZAKH INVEST Chairman of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina has reached the U.S. Open final for the first time in her career and secured the world No. 1 ranking, becoming the first Kazakhstan’s singles player to top the WTA rankings. Rybakina defeated American Coco Gauff 3:6, 6:4, 6:4 in the semifinal, with the match lasting two hours and eight…

ASTANA – Deputies of Kazakhstan’s Kurultai will face new rules governing their conduct inside and outside the legislative chamber, with violations ranging from inappropriate remarks and providing unverified information to breaches of parliamentary ethics that could result in public apologies, restrictions on speaking and other disciplinary measures. Deputy Chair of the Kurultai Daniya Yespayeva outlined…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Security Council is expanding its focus to a broader range of national security risks, including information and cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, personal data protection, economic crime and civil protection, under new regulations approved by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Sept. 11.  Tokayev signed a decree approving the regulations on the Security Council and its…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are working to resume passenger ferry services across the Caspian Sea, reopening a route that connected the two countries until 2020 and could provide an additional boost to tourism and regional connectivity. Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alim Bayel said the Kazakh side had proposed restoring passenger services on the Kuryk–Baku–Kuryk…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan increased oil transportation through KazTransOil’s main pipeline network by 4% in the first eight months of 2026, while volumes transported into the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system rose 39%, highlighting both stronger oil flows and the continued strategic importance of export infrastructure to the country’s resource economy.  KazTransOil transported 30.639 million tonnes…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan is moving ahead with a $1.4 billion renewable energy project with Masdar, a leading renewable energy company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as the country seeks to expand wind generation while addressing electricity shortages and building a more flexible power system. The development was discussed Sept. 8 during a meeting…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan is stepping up its partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO) as part of a broader strategy to strengthen the country’s position as a key Eurasian transit hub. But while digital customs reforms could significantly reduce trade costs and border delays, experts say their long-term economic payoff will ultimately depend on infrastructure,…

ALMATY – For centuries, the history of the Golden Horde has often been told from the perspective of the societies it encountered. French historian Marie Favereau is trying to turn that perspective around. Her book, now available in Kazakh, examines the Ulus of Jochi not as a peripheral chapter in European or Mongol history, but…