Articles by AIDANA YERGALIYEVA

ASTANA – Astana Hub envisions developing from a country-level support for start-up projects to a regional innovation centre for the entire global IT community, said Pavel Koktyshev, Zerde Holding Deputy Chairperson of National Information and Communication. Many start-ups, even the most promising ones, must often terminate their work in the very early stages, as they…

ASTANA – The capital will mark the International Day of Rural Women by organising the first forum Nov. 8-9 gathering successful businesswomen who are contributing to the sustainable development of Kazakh villages. Just like in many other countries, the progress in overall gender equality in Kazakhstan is sound in bigger cities such as the capital…

ASTANA – Feminist movements are growing in the light of push for the social modernisation and reaching high human development in Kazakhstan, yet there is a room to develop. The gender experts and human rights activists Moldiyar Yergebekov and Asiya Khairullina spoke to The Astana Times about existing social problems around gender inequality and their…

ASTANA – Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman discussed with her Kazakh counterparts military and technical cooperation between the two countries Oct. 2-4 in Astana. Kazakhstan is to deploy its armed forces under the Indian Battalion for United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission starting Oct. 19. The peacekeeping operation will continue for 18…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s 100 New Faces project, which recognises exemplary citizens of the country, counts among its ranks physicist Almira Zhilkashinova, who developed a wind turbine that can generate energy even in the coldest Siberian frosts of negative 40 degrees Celsius. Zhilkashinova won the 2015 Shapagat national inventions contest with this turbine, which is now…

ASTANA – Fitch Ratings has affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings (IDR) of the Kazakhstan Mortgage Company (KMC) in foreign and national currency at the level of BBB- with Stable Outlook, according to Fitch ratings published in October. Fitch predicts positive ratings, if Kazakh governmental support for KMC’s is unchanged. KMC is one of the…

ASTANA – Religious leaders adopted a declaration on the role of religion in the modern context Oct. 11 on the second and final day of the Sixth Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions here. “We appeal to all people of faith and goodwill to unite in this difficult time and make their…

ASTANA – Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), in conjunction with educational business circles focusing on investment basics, held a ceremonial opening Oct. 6 for its new examination centre to certify high-quality investors during the Investor’s Day conference in the capital. The speakers noted the world has seen many bubbles, with the U.S. housing bubble the…

ASTANA – The approved draft of the National Action Plan includes approximately 100 events in the six key state development areas highlighted in Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s recent address, reported Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov at the Oct. 9 governmental meeting. “In general, the timely implementation of the National Plan will ensure the effective…

ASTANA – Opening a kindergarten for 450 students and a computerised tomographic centre, as well as a notable increase in farms with greenhouses, have helped to develop the Turkestan region’s Saryagash district. Regional akim (governor) Zhanseit Tuimebayev examined the new institutions and farms during an Oct. 2 visit. Bes Zhuldyz kindergarten in Zhibek Zholy village…

ASTANA – The Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) headquarters opened Sept. 27 in the capital’s Moskva Business Centre. The organisation seeks to strengthen cooperation among member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to ensure food security for its member states and develop the Kazakh agricultural industry. “For Kazakhstan, the initiative represents geopolitical…

ASTANA – Yuri Khon, the Aktobe region’s senior inspector for the local environmental police service, was short-listed among the nation’s 100 new faces for saving human lives while risking his own. “I consider my biggest achievements in life to be saving people. I saved people from fire, water and sands. The gratitude of the saved…

ASTANA – The government of Kazakhstan and the UNDP, in partnership with a few other local companies, are offering residents of Astana and Almaty the opportunity to recycle their old household appliances free of charge and get a 10 percent discount on a new energy-efficient refrigerator, representatives of the organisations announced at an Oct. 2…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has allocated 110 billion tenge (US$303.54 million) over the past three years to develop machinery manufacturing, said First Vice Minister for Investment and Development Roman Sklyar at a press conference dedicated to the opening of the Machine Builders of Kazakhstan’s sixth forum. “These funds are not irrevocable; the budget spends them on…

ASTANA – Additional one-way roads and congestion pricing will decrease traffic jams in the capital, said a city akimat (administration) representative at a Sept. 27 press conference. Traffic flow should accelerate by increasing the number of one-way streets, which, according to experts, is expected to improve the transport stream’s average speed by 33 percent. The…

ASTANA – Akmola region authorities, public activists and scholars recently revived the 18th century Burabai-Ulytau-Turkestan caravan route, often called Khan Zholy with direct reference to Abylai Khan (Kazakh Khan of Middle Horde). The Abylai Khannyn Kara Zholy expedition, which passed through the Akmola, Karaganda, Kyzylorda and Turkestan regions, was conducted Sept. 14-24. “Khan used this…

ASTANA – A number of projects introducing digital technologies into Kazakhstan’s agro-industrial complex (AIC) are underway. Full digitisation will increase labour productivity and the export of processed agricultural products by at least 2.5 times over the next five years, First Vice Minister of Agriculture Arman Yevniyev told a Sept. 25 meeting of the government. To…

ASTANA – An exhibition supported by Kazakhstan’s national modernisation programme, Ruhani Zhangyru, featuring Kazakh and Central Asian contemporary artists opened September 22 at in Moskva Business Centre. The exhibition, named Reload, is the second part of a three-part series. The first part of the show, Metamorphosis, opened September 15. “I like this project very much,…

ASTANA – Walt Disney’s Commonwealth of Independent States’ (CIS) office is enthusiastic about Kazakhstan’s draft law “On cinema” and plans to cooperate with the country by assisting filmmakers and the local dubbing industry, said the company’s Director General Marina Zhigalova-Ozkan during the Sept. 15 roundtable at the Almaty Film Festival’s business site. The Disney delegation…

ASTANA – Tselinny, once a fashionable Soviet cinema in Almaty, has been reconstructed into the country’s first centre for contemporary culture and arts. The re-opening began Sept. 15 with an exhibition of contemporary architecture and arts. Tselinny was one of the city’s largest cinemas when it opened in 1964 but lost its glory in the…

ASTANA – A new Asian Development Bank (ADB) country analysis identifies diversification, manufacturing and agriculture among Kazakhstan’s opportunities for economic growth. Diversification of the economy and introducing reforms favourable to its development will help Kazakhstan realise its growth potential, according to the ADB report. The study estimated that a good business climate and recommended reforms…

ASTANA – Young Kazakh and foreign artists presented works of contemporary art Sept. 15 at the first event of Astana Art Show 2018. The exhibition will continue until Oct. 28 in Astana. The exhibition consists of three parts. The first part is named Metamorphosis and includes works from more than 20 Kazakh and foreign artists.…

ASTANA – The first free courses teaching self-defence basics for women began in the city as a social project to raise awareness and protect vulnerable members of society. Violence against women and children in Kazakhstan has increased by 90 percent compared to 2015, reported dknews.kz. More than 8,000 female victims were registered in the past…

ASTANA – As the international community marked the Sept. 10 World Day against Suicide, Kazakhstan ranks fourth in the world in the number of suicide deaths per capita, according to the World Health Organisation. The Kazakh government has recognised suicide, including teen suicide, as a public health threat and the World Health Organisation (WHO) says…

ASTANA – Kazakh government officials hope to reach 4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2018, despite only 3.8 percent growth between January and August, Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov told at Sept. 11 government meeting. “Given the GDP growth rate from the beginning of the year, the 4 percent target remains achievable.…