Articles by George D. Gleboff

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will hold an early presidential election June 9, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced April 9. Tokayev called for the early election after assuming the office per Kazakhstan’s Constitution March 20 following the surprise resignation of Kazakhstan’s first and only President since independence, Nursultan Nazarbayev, March 19. Tokayev said he called for the…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set the date for the early presidential election for June 9, 2019 as he said the vote was “absolutely needed” to ensure “continuity, predictability and stability” at the time of political transition and “to remove any uncertainty.” In a televised address broadcast on all national television channels at 1…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev stunned the nation March 19, announcing during a nationally televised address that he would be resigning the office he has held for nearly three decades. “As the founder of the independent Kazakh state, I see my future task in ensuring the coming to power of a new generation of…

BRUSSELS – The 21st meeting of the Berlin Eurasian Club, held in Brussels Oct. 4 under the title “The Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the European Union (EU): Achievements and Goals,” gathered diplomats, experts, business and media representatives from the nation and the continent. The event focused on…

NEW YORK – The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) commemorated the International Day against Nuclear Tests with an Aug. 30 special meeting highlighting the need for unified efforts to legally stop further nuclear weapons testing. Addressing the audience, UNGA President Peter Thomson called for global action to halt nuclear tests and the proliferation of nuclear…

A Rotterdam square is named after Astana, a new stamp featuring the portrait of the Kazakh President is issued by the Dutch Post, and a new tulip is bred called ‘President Nazarbayev’ THE HAGUE – Kazakhstan and the Netherlands have moved their bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level following the visit here by President…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is “deeply concerned with the current developments in Ukraine”, the country’s foreign ministry said in a March 3 statement adding that “further escalation of tensions may lead to unpredictable consequences at both regional and global levels.” “Kazakhstan calls on all parties to renounce options that imply the use of power and make…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan calls on all countries to work to strengthen the global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime and to reaffirm their commitments to key treaties in this area, and says it is ready to work with partners on developing a convention prohibiting nuclear weapons, the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Feb.…

ASTANA – Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans visited the capital of Kazakhstan on Feb. 3 for a series of high-level meetings focused on expanding economic cooperation and building up the framework of joint efforts in working towards a world without nuclear weapons. The second area of interest bears special importance and urgency as The Hague…

ASTANA – In his widely anticipated State-of-the-Nation address on Jan. 17, President Nursultan Nazarbayev outlined in detail his vision of how Kazakhstan, a country only 22 years old, could become one of the world’s 30 most developed and competitive nations by 2050. To catch up with the developed world, he said, Kazakhstan will need to…

BERLIN, Dec. 4 – Kazakhstan’s efforts to advance global nuclear disarmament overall and specifically through The ATOM Project were in focus of German politicians and experts who came together for a Dec. 3 conference here at one of this country’s most respected institutions. The conference, titled “Kazakhstan’s Role in Global Action against Nuclear Weapons,” took…

SAINT PETERSBURG, Nov. 29 – Parliamentary leaders and deputies from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and beyond came together today in this city’s historic Tauride Palace for an international conference focusing on nuclear security in the modern world and seeking ways to advance the cause of global nuclear disarmament. On an unusually warm and sunny…

ASTANA, Nov. 13 – Kazakhstan and Canada signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement during the first-ever visit of a Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs to Kazakhstan. The agreement sets the stage for the expansion of the two countries’ already dynamic joint work. Canada and Kazakhstan are leading players in global nuclear energy. Canadian Minister of…

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 – Kazakhstan has strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria and called for earliest ending to the conflict there, while it also urges all nations to engage more actively in nuclear disarmament processes, calls for strengthening the UN Human Rights Council, proposes Almaty as a UN regional diplomacy hub…

ASTANA, Sept. 18 – Kazakhstan has matured as an independent country, has contributed to promoting global peace, security and development and can bring even more benefits to the international community if elected a member of the United Nations Security Council for the first time, the country’s top officials said at the launch of its bid…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan once again strongly condemns the act of the use of chemical weapons in Syria as confirmed by the findings of an independent investigation by the UN Mission and regards it as a crime against humanity, the country’s foreign ministry said in a Sept. 17 statement, as it called for a UN Security…

ASTANA – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater international efforts to end nuclear weapons testing and to promote movement toward a world free from nuclear weapons. In a special online message dedicated to the fourth annual observance of August 29, the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Ban Ki-moon urged the international…

ASTANA – The ATOM Project, an international campaign against nuclear tests and nuclear weapons, is calling on the world to commemorate all victims of nuclear weapons tests and nuclear explosions with a minute of silence on August 29 at 11:05 a.m. according to respective time zone’s local time. When clock hands show 11:05, they represent…

ASTANA – United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for greater international efforts to end nuclear weapons testing and to promote movement toward a world free from nuclear weapons. In a special online message dedicated to the fourth annual observance of August 29, the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Ban Ki-moon urged the international…

President Nursultan Nazarbayev met British Prime Minister David Cameron on July 23 at 10 Downing Street in London. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the prospects of mutual cooperation, including key aspects of economical partnership and shared views on regional security issues. They also discussed the implementation of agreements reached during David Cameron’s recent…

WASHINGTON – Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Erlan Idrissov began his visit to Washington on July 8 and 9 to touch base with U.S. officials such as National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on bilateral relations and international issues, including the security in Central Asia and the future of Afghanistan…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov has called the trip by British Prime Minister David Cameron to Kazakhstan on June 30 – July 1 a “milestone visit” and said the country welcomed wider British involvement in its development. Speaking during a teleconference with British journalists ahead of the visit, Idrissov said the its agenda…

ASTANA, June 25 – Kazakh and U.S. officials and scholars met in Astana today for the first meeting of the Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation seeking to explore avenues for collaborative efforts in such areas as biomedical research, green chemistry and natural resources and mineral management. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of…

On May 28, heads of four Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) member states met in Bishkek to discuss regional security and Afghanistan today and post-2014, when the majority of foreign military forces are expected to leave that country. Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Emomali Rakhmon of…

ASTANA – On January 16 and 17, President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed numerous decrees reshuffling the Kazakh government and making several appointments in his administration and among regional governors. The reshuffle began with the creation of a new ministry – the Ministry of Regional Development – which incorporated two erstwhile agencies for housing construction and for…