Articles by Dana Omirgazy

ASTANA – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the plenary session of the 20th Forum of Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation, which was held on Nov. 26-27 in Ufa, via videoconference. Tokayev welcomed the attendees and stated that bilateral cooperation in trade, economy, and investment, as well as industrial collaboration, has…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, who arrived in Kazakhstan on a state visit, discussed cooperation prospects in the trade and economic, transport and logistics, fuel and energy, scientific and technical, cultural and humanitarian areas during the extended-format talks on Nov. 27. During the meeting, Tokayev focused on trade and…

ASTANA – Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen unveiled his new music video for the song “Kieli Meken” (“Sacred Homeland” in Kazakh) on Nov. 27. “This project is a heartfelt tribute to the stunning beauty of my homeland. In the video, we worked hard to showcase the breathtaking landscapes and the rich cultural heritage of Kazakhstan. I…

ASTANA – The number of Chinese tourists visiting Kazakhstan continues to rise; from January to October, the figure reached 550,000, exceeding the figure for 2023 with 367,000 visitors, said Chair of Kazakh Tourism national company Kairat Sadvakassov during a Nov. 27 official closing ceremony of the Year of Kazakhstan Tourism in China in Almaty. Sadvakassov…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan is implementing measures to enhance its transport connectivity through five main international railway corridors connecting Chinese markets with Europe and Central Asia, said Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev at a Nov. 26 government meeting. There are currently 27 railway border locations between Kazakhstan and its five neighbors. The Dostyk, Altynkol, and Saryagash…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is expanding a network of terminals along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), also known as the Middle Corridor. Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev announced this during a Nov. 26 government meeting. According to Karabayev, Kazakhstan plans to build a terminal in the European part of the route. In addition to the…

ASTANA – Just two days after a sold-out performance in Prague, Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen and his team held a solo concert in Düsseldorf on Nov. 24. According to dimashnews.com, the Stranger tour, which began in 2022 in Almaty, has since traveled to Yerevan (Armenia), Antalya and Istanbul (Türkiye), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Hong Kong (China),…

ASTANA – This year marks the 30th anniversary of Project Sapphire. This landmark operation took place in 1994 and involved removing 600 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from a vulnerable site in Ust-Kamenogorsk. According to the U.S. Embassy to Kazakhstan, this material, left from the Soviet-era nuclear program and vulnerable to theft, was discovered…

ASTANA – The 17th Eurasia International Film Festival kicked off on Nov. 24 in Almaty, bringing together international actors, directors and producers. The opening ceremony featured a theatrical show with dances, songs and musical performances by Kazakh artists, opera singers, children’s choir soloists, choreographers and stunt performers. According to Kazinform, guests could also hear the…

ASTANA – The first container train on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route’s (TITR) return trip from Baku (Azerbaijan) to Xian (China) via Kazakhstan was officially launched on Nov. 24. The train, carrying 62 containers of petroleum coke, will travel along the TITR as part of the reverse loading and arrive in just 12 days. The…

ASTANA – Nearly three-quarters of Kazakhstan citizens surveyed recently by the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) positively assess the changes in their families over the past 33 years. In its survey released on Nov. 12, the KazISS asked respondents to evaluate not the economic achievements of the state and its policies but the changes…

ASTANA – The Kazakh documentary film “Shekteusiz Umit” (Endless Hope) directed by Marat Teleuov received the award of merit at California-based Best Shorts Competition in the Documentary Short and Disability Issues nominations. The film tells about the lives of five families raising children with cerebral palsy. According to producer Daniyar Valiulla, the film’s core theme…

ASTANA – The Astana Times has curated a selection of articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest includes topics such as the Kazakh President’s official visits to Serbia and Hungary, the Middle Corridor, Amur tigers and more. Prime Minister Orbán hails Kazakhstan as key partner in energy and economic growth…

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov discussed government’s plans to build a diversified economy, develop high-value industries and increase non-resource exports during a Nov. 21 plenary session of the Senate, the upper house of the Kazakh Parliament. According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the government members and deputies reviewed the draft laws on…

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlić-Radman met in Zagreb on Nov. 21 to outline priority areas for cooperation. According to the Foreign Ministry’s press service, the officials discussed a broad range of bilateral topics, including political dialogue, strengthening trade, economic…

ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok highlighted priority areas to strengthen multilateral cooperation between their nations during a Nov. 20 meeting in Budapest. Held in the format of a working lunch, the meeting covered a wide range of topics related to the Kazakh-Hungarian strategic partnership. Tokayev noted that…

ASTANA – Kuala Lumpur hosted the inaugural Quryltay-2024 (Congress in Kazakh) conference on Nov. 18, bringing together ethnic Kazakhs from Southeast and East Asia. According to Kazinform, the event, organized by the Kazakh diaspora in Malaysia under the auspices of the Otandastar Foundation and with the support of the Kazakh Embassy in Malaysia, became an…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s major oil pipeline system transported 57.8 million tons of oil between January and October. Domestic refineries received more than 26% of the transported oil, or 15.1 million tons. Approximately 46.3 million tons of oil were transported via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline, reported the Energy Ministry on Nov. 20. The volume of…

ASTANA – The Kazakh government allocated 28.2 billion tenge ($57 million) from recovered illegally acquired assets to complete the construction of a hospital complex initiated in 2021 in the East Kazakhstan Region’s Ridder town. “A multidisciplinary hospital complex with a 200-bed hospital and a polyclinic for 500 visits per shift cost 34.8 billion tenge (US$70.4…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Neo Nomad Visa, introduced on Nov. 1, provides new prospects for digital nomads. This new visa, classified as category B12-1, allows remote workers worldwide to spend up to one year living and working in Kazakhstan. To qualify for the Neo Nomad Visa, applicants must provide bank statements from the past six months…

ASTANA – Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov convened a meeting of the High Science and Technology Commission to discuss the development of science and technology and their contribution to the Kazakh economy. During the meeting, executives from leading research institutes, universities, large industrial enterprises and specialized ministries discussed the scientific and technical work plan…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić identified priority areas for cooperation, including investment, industry, mining, agriculture, healthcare, innovations, and new technologies at a Nov. 19 press briefing in Belgrade, Akorda reported. Kazakhstan and Serbia plan to launch joint projects in manufacturing, transport and logistics, green energy, and the military-industrial complex.…

ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Hungary on a state visit on Nov. 19. Upon arrival, President Tokayev and Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán attended the football match between the national teams of Hungary and Germany in the UEFA Nations League, which took place at the Puskás Aréna Park. During the…

ASTANA – The Arkalan Petroglyph Nature Park has opened in the main Botanical Garden of Almaty. The Petroglyph Nature Park is a joint project of the Institute of Botany and Phytointroduction and the Petroglyph Hunters Public Foundation.  The author’s interpretation of Turkic petroglyphs and steles includes a variety of steppe flora that recreates the ecosystem…

ASTANA – The turnover of transactions in digital tenge will exceed 200 billion (US$401.1 million) by the end of the year, said Binur Zhalenov, chief digital officer and advisor to the National Bank chair at the Nov. 15 Financial Congress. Zhalenov said that the digital tenge platform helps to ensure transparent government spending, reduce costs,…