FM visits Brussels in advance of start of new Kazakhstan-EU cooperation agreement entry into force
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi made his first visit to Brussels Jan. 20 to participate in the 17th meeting of the Cooperation Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan-the European Union and meet with high-level officials. Earlier on the same day, the council adopted the conclusion of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement…
Kazakhstan to lead Landlocked Developing Countries group
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has assumed chairmanship of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC) for 2020-2021. The chairmanship transfer ceremony was held at UN Headquarters in New York with participation from UN member ambassadors and experts and the UN High Representative for Least Developed Countries, LLDCs and Small Island Developing States Fekitamoeloa ʻUtoikamanu. The group…
Kazakh President meets his administration over Middle East Crisis
NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met Jan. 8 with the leadership of his administration over concerns about the situation in the Middle East and Iran. The Deputy Prime Minister, the Secretary of the Security Council, the Chairman of the National Security Committee, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Internal Affairs, and the Chief of the…
Kazakh, Belarusian presidents agree to enhance long-term trade cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – The Presidents of Kazakhstan and Belarus oversaw the signing of five bilateral agreements and held a joint press conference Oct. 25, concluding a two-day official visit by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to the Kazakh capital. Lukashenko’s visit was his first to Kazakhstan since the election of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The sides discussed economic,…
Tokayev outlines Asia strategy, promises multilateral approach to global issues at Valdai Meeting
NUR-SULTAN – Positioned as a transit and trade bridge between Europe and Asia, located at the crossroads of Islamic, Confucian and East Christian civilizations, Kazakhstan plans to optimise the opportunities coming up with the age of Asia, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, outlining core economic and foreign policy trajectories of his country at the Valdai…
President Tokayev calls for removal of trade barriers within EAEU, as union signs FTA with Singapore
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for a removal of trade barriers within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) during the Oct. 2 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Yerevan, Armenia. “In difficult global conditions it is extremely important for us to support sustainable economic growth of our nations. This is possible only through real and…
Kazakhstan to launch compulsory health insurance 10 years in the making
NUR-SULTAN – After almost a decade’s effort, Kazakhstan plans to launch in January 2020 a new system of compulsory insurance. The system is meant to lower the cost of healthcare and expand the number of Kazakhs who have access to healthcare through compulsory contributions by citizens and businesses to the national healthcare system. Government officials…
Kazakh FM visits South Korea on 10th anniversary of strategic relations
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov discussed bilateral relations, international issues and the situation on the Korean Peninsula with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon and other top officials and business leaders in Seoul on Sept. 16. “The Republic of Korea is one of the key strategic partners in Asia, and our political interaction…
Kazakhstan and China: strengthening friendship and partnership in a new era
NUR-SULTAN – Beibut Atamkulov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, gave an exclusive interview to Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper explaining the results of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Sept. 11-12 state visit to China. Here’s the translation. Please tell us about the state visit with the President to China. This visit was historical, and built upon the…
Expats give Kazakhstan high marks in new InterNations report
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has shown the biggest improvement in the 2019 InterNations Business Solutions Expat Insider report, moving 27 ranks up to 22nd place from 49th spot in 2018. Along with Kazakhstan, Indonesia and Qatar have also shown huge improvements with respective 21 and 20 points up comparing to their 2018 scores – thus being…
Kazakh FM discusses cooperation with UAE officials, attends IGC meeting in Abu Dhabi
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov and United Arab Emirates Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed cooperation and investment during Atamkulov’s visit to Abu-Dhabi for the Sept. 8-9 7th meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC). “The UAE is our key strategic partner in the Middle…
Nazarbayev opens Kazakh pavilion at exhibition hall in Moscow, meets with Putin
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s First President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended the opening ceremony of Kazakhstan’s pavilion at the VDNH exposition, museum and recreational complex in Moscow. Nazarbayev was visiting Moscow for the city’s 872nd anniversary. Kazakh artists and musicians welcomed pavilion visitors who were presented with Kazakh agricultural products, organic…
Kazakh FM makes first trip to Berlin, discusses economic and political ties
BERLIN – Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov discussed ways to strengthen economic, political and humanitarian ties with German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas during Atamkulov’s Aug. 19 first visit to Berlin in his capacity. The Kazakh delegation headed by Atamkulov also met with high-level German officials, including Head of the Office of the…
Eurasian Intergovernmental Council discusses integration, status of current agreements
NUR-SULTAN – Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states prime ministers discussed ways to increase integration, the status of agreements and future cooperation at the Aug. 9 Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) meeting in Cholpon Ata, Kyrgyzstan, according to the Kazakh Prime Minister’s office. The prime ministers of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, Belarus Syarhey Rumas, Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Kyrgyzstan…
Guarantor states of Syrian talks in Kazakh capital reaffirm commitment to eliminating terrorist groups in Syria
NUR-SULTAN – Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantor states of the Astana Process Syrian peace talks in Nur-Sultan, issued a joint statement following Aug. 2 talks in the Kazakh capital reaffirming their commitment to cooperate to eliminate in Syria all groups designated by the United Nations as terrorist organisations. These groups include DAESH/ISIL, Al-Nusra Front…
Iraqi, Lebanese delegations to join Astana Process Syrian talks as observers
NUR-SULTAN – Delegations from Iraq and Lebanon will participate as observers in the 13th round of Astana Process Syrian talks Aug. 1-2 in Nur-Sultan, the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced July 31. A Syrian government delegation headed by its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Bashar al-Jaafari and a leader of the armed opposition Ahmad…
Astana Process has contributed to search for peace in Syria, says former UN envoy
Swedish diplomat Staffan de Mistura served as UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Syria from July 2014 to November 2018. The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs publication Diplomatic Herald recently spoke with de Mistura about peacemaking, the Syrian crisis and the Astana Process. That interview, edited for space and style, is reprinted here. What attracted…
Kazakhstan announces initiatives to reinforce OSCE goals
NUR-SULTAN – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Beibut Atamkulov briefed participants of a July 8-9 informal Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial gathering in the High Tatras, Slovakia on the Kazakh initiative to establish an OSCE thematic centre on sustainable connectivity in Nur-Sultan and ways to improve the organisation. The ministerial…
EU announces new EU-funded programmes in Central Asia
NUR-SULTAN – The European Union’s political commitment and a set of European Union-funded regional programmes were announced during a recent high-level meeting in Bishkek between Central Asian ministers of foreign affairs and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini. The announcement marks the official start of the implementation of the…
Tokayev outlines vision for SCO in Bishkek on first foreign trip as newly elected Kazakh President
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined his views of the priorities for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) at a June 13 meeting of the heads of the organisation in Bishkek. The meeting was part of the newly elected Kazakh President’s first foreign trip. The SCO was established in 2001 and includes member states Kazakhstan,…
Kazakh President urges CICA to meet its potential to counter regional challenges
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the June 14-15 plenary session of the 5th summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and met with CICA member nations leaders in Dushanbe. Tokayev told the gathering he believes Tajikistan’s CICA chairmanship will help the organisation contribute to solving issues…
12th round of Astana Process peace talks advances work to launch constitutional committee
NUR-SULTAN – Parties to the 12th round of Astana Process Syrian peace talks April 26 in the Kazakh capital continued efforts to launch a Constitutional Committee to bring peace to Syria. The committee is seen by the sides in the conflict as a way to achieve political reform and hold elections to unify the country.…
Korean President brings ‘Fresh Wind’ to relations in Kazakh capital
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and South Korean President Moon Jae-in discussed April 22 the peace process on the Korean Peninsula and bilateral economic cooperation during Moon Jae-in’s three-day state visit to Kazakhstan. The visit marked the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between the two countries. The two presidents signed a wide-ranging joint statement…
Kazakh FM meets with political, business leaders at sidelines of WEF in Jordan
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Beibut Atamkulov met with more than a dozen political and business leaders on the sidelines of the April 6 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (WEF MENA) at the Dead Sea in the Jordan. The event in the Jordanian capital attracted more than 1,000…
New Kazakh President makes first foreign visit to Moscow, reaffirms priority of relations
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin noted the positive state of bilateral relations April 3 in Moscow and agreed to simplify cross-border trade during Tokayev’s first foreign visit as the head of state. “I intend to ensure the continuity of the policy of the First President of the Republic of…
New Kazakh President sworn in, praises predecessor, pledges continuity
ASTANA – The new President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was sworn in March 20 during a joint session of the chambers of the Kazakh Parliament. Tokayev was sworn in following the surprise resignation March 19 of Kazakhstan’s founding and only previous President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Tokayev, who had been serving as the Senate Speaker, dedicated his…
Kazakhstan achieves its UN Security Council membership goals, says foreign minister
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has completed the tasks set out by President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the country’s two-year, non-permanent 2017-2018 United Nations Security Council membership, Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov told the Mazhilis (lower house of the parliament) March 4. The President laid out the country’s goals at the start of its membership in an address to…
Inclusive global dialogue is Kazakh foreign policy priority, new FM tells diplomatic corps in annual briefing
ASTANA – One of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities is to pursue inclusive dialogue between leading powers to overcome “bloc thinking” and reach consensus on key global issues, new Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov told ambassadors and envoys during his first meeting with the diplomatic corps in Astana on Feb. 7, according to the ministry’s press…
Eurasian Economic Union leaders discuss trade, digital economy in St. Petersburg
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in the Dec. 6 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (EEC) and the informal summit of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The group discussed Russia’s 2018 chairmanship of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and increasing cooperation in trade, energy, the digital economy…
Kazakhstan presents proposals for new EU Strategy on Central Asia
BRUSSELS – The Belgian capital hosted the Nov. 23 European Union-Central Asia ministerial meeting attended by the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. The agenda focused on a new draft of the EU Strategy on Central Asia. According…
Nazarbayev, Putin discuss tourism at interregional forum
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Nov. 9 in Petropavlovsk, Russia on the sidelines of the 15th Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum. The presidents were briefed during their meeting on the development of the Baikonur space complex, the construction of social facilities, the repair of infrastructure networks and the gasification…
CIS heads of government council in Astana: Kazakhstan calls for expanding trade relations
ASTANA – The heads of government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) discussed 15 agenda items during a scheduled council meeting in the Kazakh capital on Nov. 2. CIS is composed of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. One of the areas of focus was enhancing economic and trade cooperation.…
New Kyrgyz foreign minister visits Astana to reaffirm ties
ASTANA – The newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Chingiz Aydarbekov visited Astana Oct. 27 to meet with his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov to discuss the strategic partnership between the two countries. “We attach a particular importance to the relations between our two fraternal countries and regard each other as strategic partners and…
U.S. Commerce Secretary, business delegation tour Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met Oct. 24 with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in Astana on Ross’s first day in Kazakhstan. Ross visited Kazakhstan for three days as part of a Central Asian tour and also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev, government ministers and officials overseeing economy, trade and investments.…
Key Belt and Road node bears potential for much gain for Kazakhstan, China and beyond
KHORGOS – A large group of foreign ambassadors, local and international journalists toured Oct. 6 the area of the Kazakh-Chinese border that includes the Khorgos Eastern Gate Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the Khorgos Dry Port and the Khorgos International Centre of Boundary Cooperation (ICBC). Kazakh officials organised the tour for around 45 foreign diplomats and…
Nazarbayev calls for CIS trade liberalisation
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to liberalise trade between members during the Sept. 28 CIS Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Nazarbayev proposed removing trade barriers between member states, expanding trade deals and optimising transit routes. He also suggested more joint projects in science and…
Kazakhstan, China sign $1.9 billion investment agreements in Beijing
ASTANA – First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin and First Vice Premier of the State Council of China and co-Chairman of the Kazakhstan-China Cooperation Committee Han Zheng oversaw the signing of agreements and contracts for 11 new joint projects worth $1.9 billion during Mamin’s Sept. 26 visit to Beijing. Mamin also met during…
Kazakh President meets with Turkish President, business leaders in Ankara
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, participated in the Third Meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and met with Turkish business leaders during a Sept. 13 official visit to Turkey. “Relations between Kazakhstan and Turkey are developing in the spirit of strategic partnership, an important…
Kazakh President urges joint Parliament session to pursue socio-economic development
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev opened the fourth session of the Kazakh Parliament Sept. 1 at the joint sitting of the Senate and Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament). He praised Parliament members’ work and collaboration with the government. Heads of state authorities of all branches, public figures, leaders of religious associations, NGOs as well…
Kazakh Constitution has withstood the test of time, says President
ASTANA – The Nazarbayev Centre hosted Aug. 28-29 the conference, A Constitution: the Embodiment of the Values of the Rule of Law, Civil Society and the Modern State. The conference was dedicated to Kazakhstan’s Aug. 29 Constitution Day. The event was organised by the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan, the Foundation of the First President of…
Conference on empowerment of Afghan women secures €2 million education pledge, calls for enhanced application of international norms
ASTANA – The Kazakh capital hosted Sept. 5 the Regional Conference on Women’s Empowerment in Afghanistan. It was held six months after Kazakhstan announced the event during a March 8 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the European Union, as well as the Foundation of the…
Central Asian leaders hold first Aral Sea summit since 2009, agree to develop action plan
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged an Aug. 24 summit of the heads of the founding states of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) in Turkmenbashi city, Turkmenistan to reorganise the IFAS to better protect the environmentally-damaged water body. “It is time to automate the management, distribution, the accounting and monitoring…
Kazakhstan launches a multimodal transport hub on Caspian shores
AKTAU – President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially inaugurated the ferry complex of the Kuryk Port – a multimodal hub on the shore of Caspian Sea on Aug. 11. The port will link several Eurasian highway and railway transit corridors to the sea and is part of the country’s Nurly Zhol (Bright Path) infrastructure development programme. Transport…
Caspian Sea nations sign historic convention laying solid framework for use of resource-rich sea
AKTAU – After two decades of diplomatic efforts, the five Caspian Sea nations signed the convention on the water reservoir legal status that had been in the works since 1996. In addition, six more documents were signed on various aspects of cooperation. The convention and the agreements were signed on the International Day of the…
Kazakh Foreign Ministry presents journalism awards
ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded the winners of the fifth annual Kazakhstan through the Eyes of Foreign Media contest at an Aug. 6 ceremony. The contest seeks to promote professional reporting on Kazakhstan in the foreign media by recognising the authors of the most objective journalistic reports, stories and analytical pieces. The…
EU, Central Asian delegations hold political, security talks in Ashgabat
ASTANA – Delegations from Central Asian foreign ministries and from European External Action Service (EEAS) held the fifth annual High Level Dialogue (HLD) on Political and Security matters in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on July 9. Central Asian authorities and the EU are working to present the updated EU Strategy on Central Asia aimed at upgrading relations…
Central Asian leaders attend Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) launch
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan toured the digitisation exhibition as part of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) opening. “AIFC participants will have access to the capital not only of Kazakhstan and the region, but the whole world. Unprecedented conditions have been created here that have no…
Nazarbayev calls for greater multilateral economic cooperation within SCO
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the 18th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) June 9 in Qingdao, China calling for greater multilateral economic cooperation among its eight member states. Nazarbayev told the gathering the recent addition of India and Pakistan has increased the organisation’s international influence. “After the accession of India and…
Nazarbayev meets Chinese president, business circles, on state visit to Beijing
ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Beijing for a state visit to China on June 6-8. The relationship between Kazakhstan and China has grown increasingly close in recent years: since 2012, the two countries have seen 18 meetings at the highest level and signed 127 bilateral documents for a total of about $67…
Astana supports international cooperation, peace, security, experts attest
ASTANA – “Astana is a symbol of modern, prosperous Kazakhstan and the flagship of the whole country, representing first of all a victory by the nation’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev,” Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said to open the June 5 international conference. Marking the 20th anniversary of the capital city, the conference, titled Astana: City…
Kazakhstan announces support for inter-Korean summit
ASTANA – Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov expressed support for the upcoming summit between the Republic of Korea and North Korea at an April 17 joint press briefing here with his Korean colleague Kang Kyung-wha. Abdrakhmanov said he hopes the April 27 summit provides a breakthrough for the de-nuclearisation of the…
Kazakh officials briefed on Estonia’s IT success
ASTANA – Kazakh officials were briefed during a meeting in Tallinn at the end of March on Estonia’s digitisation successes. Estonia is considered a leader in IT-based logistics and business services and the meeting came as Kazakhstan embarks on its national digitisation programme. Estonia is ranked first in Europe in the Global Index on cyber…
Kazakh FM briefs CIS foreign ministers on Kazakh initiatives, signs security and education agreements
ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov briefed the Commonwealth of Independent States Council of Foreign Ministers April 6 in Minsk, Belarus on Kazakhstan’s initiatives on regional security and development, denuclearisation and confidence building. Abdrakhmanov also thanked his colleagues for supporting Kazakhstan’s presidency of the United Nations Security Council and efforts on Afghan security and…
Kazakh President, UAE Crown Prince discuss bilateral ties, oversee multiple agreements
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) March 24, meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and UAE Armed Forces Deputy Supreme Commander Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. According to the Akorda press service, the expanded meeting explored cooperation in investment protection, space technology, hydraulic power,…
Kazakh Senate Chairman, Indonesian President discuss Islamic finances and congress of world religions
A meeting with the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo was a central event of Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s official visit to Indonesia in mid-March. On behalf of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Tokayev invited Widodo to visit Kazakhstan in October 2018 and participate at the 6th Congress of Leaders…
Kazakhstan announces conference on Afghan gender equality
Ambassador-at-large of the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs Stanislav Vassilenko proposed during a March 8 United Nations Security Council meeting on Afghanistan a three-pronged approach to bringing peace and stability to Afghanistan and announced plans to hold a conference devoted to women empowerment. The approach includes a) a security-development nexus, meaning that programmes for sustainable…
Central European, Central Asian foreign ministers launch new dialogue platform in Budapest
ASTANA – Seizing the occasion of its presidency at the Visegrad Group and standing by its “V4 Connects” motto, Hungary convened the first meeting of foreign ministers of the Visegrad Group and Central Asia in Budapest on Feb. 27. The formal meeting, with a symbolic representation of central nations from Europe and Asia, is part…
Kazakh FM, officials brief foreign diplomats on national tourism effort
ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is joining efforts with other government agencies to promote inbound and domestic tourism in Kazakhstan, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov announced during a March 2 briefing for the foreign diplomatic corps. The Ministry of Culture and Sport, Kazakh Tourism, regional authorities and investment policy agencies will implement national initiatives…
Kazakhstan adopts new version of Latin-based Kazakh alphabet
ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev amended his Oct. 26, 2017 decree concerning the transition of the Kazakh alphabet from Cyrillic to Latin script, which if kept, would have put into effect a Latin-script alphabet with 32 letters including nine characters with apostrophes. The new amendment replaces the apostrophes with diacritic signs and digraphs. The deadline…
UN in Kazakhstan: 25 years of two-way street cooperation
ALMATY – Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Almaty Mayor Baurzhan Baibek, heads of the United Nations (UN) country offices in Kazakhstan, veterans of national diplomatic service and members of the expert community and academia participated Feb. 16 in an event in Almaty dedicated to the 25th anniversary of UN operations in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan joined the organisation…
Dialogue platform for Kazakh state and civil society sets agenda for 2018
ASTANA – This year’s first meeting of the Dialogue Platform on the Human Dimension, involving the Foreign Ministry, public authorities and civil society, was held in Astana Feb. 8 and chaired by Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov. This year, several members of the Mazhilis, Kazakhstan’s lower chamber of Parliament, participated, as did Kazakhstan’s secretary of the…
Kazakhstan leads discussion of Afghanistan and Central Asia at UNSC, secures statement
ASTANA – Working to fulfil the program of its presidency of the United Nations Security Council, Kazakhstan held Jan. 19 a ministerial debate on Central Asia and Afghanistan entitled “Building Regional Partnerships in Afghanistan and Central Asia as a Model for the Security-Development Nexus.” As has been reaffirmed by the Kazakh leadership on many occasions,…
Nazarbayev at UN Security Council: binding system to safeguard denuclearisation needed
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev chaired high-level briefing of the UN Security Council on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related confidence-building measures on Jan. 18 in New York. He started his opening speech by thanking the international community for its confidence in Kazakhstan and in its peaceful policy. “As the first…
Top UN official outlines expectations for Kazakhstan’s UNSC Presidency
ASTANA – Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the United Nations Miroslav Jenca held a webinar with Kazakh journalists in Astana Jan. 11 to discuss the role of Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member and president of the UN Security Council. Jenca said the presidency has a prominent role for the functioning of the council, as…
Kazakhstan seeks ways to bolster tourism
ASTANA – Kazakhstan will enhance its tourism industry by developing a destination culture, mountain skiing and urban travel products, said managers of Kazakh Tourism, a new state-owned company tasked with developing tourism products in the country. By 2025, the country plans to increase the tourism share of the GDP by 8 percent, up from the…
