Articles by Staff Report

ASTANA – The Astana Ballet theater will premiere two ballet productions in April with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports, reported the theater’s press service.  The audience can expect a harmonious fusion of outstanding performance technique and acting talents of artists, innovative musical solutions for ballets, and elements considered to the tiniest…

ASTANA – Fly Arystan, the Kazakh low-cost airline, plans to launch flights on the Aktau-Yerevan route from May 4, reported the company’s press service. Regular flights will be operated twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays.  Fly Arystan launched flights to Yerevan from Almaty in May 2022, but were suspended in September 2022 due to…

ASTANA – Almaty has become the cultural and tourism capital of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) for 2023-2024 after the SCO culture ministers and SCO Deputy Secretary-General Janesh Kain supported the proposal to grant the Kazakh city a new status during an April 3 virtual meeting, announced the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports.   Addressing…

ASTANA – Kazakh IT startups that are part of the Astana Hub international technopark of IT startups were recognized as best in the region at the Central Asian Tech Awards in Bishkek, winning a free trip to Silicon Valley, the Astana Hub press service announced on March 28. The Astana Hub won three out of…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan will cut oil production output by 78,000 barrels per day from May, following the latest agreement reached by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on April 2, the Kazakh Energy Ministry reported.  OPEC and other oil producing nations, known as OPEC+, including Kazakhstan, committed to oil output cuts of around 1.16…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made several key government appointments on April 3, reported Akorda press service.  The reshuffle comes two weeks after the parliamentary election in Kazakhstan and one week after the government’s resignation. President Tokayev addressed the first session of the Kazakh Parliament in this convocation on March 29, after which Prime Minister…

ASTANA – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts stated on April 1 that Kazakhstan has made significant progress in fulfilling the recommendations of the previous Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, reported the Kazakh Energy Ministry’s press service. The previous INIR mission in 2016 examined the state of nuclear infrastructure development using the criteria of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan held its first-ever national Nauryz awards on March 31, organized by the Kazakh Ministry of Information and Social Development, to recognize excellence in the TV series industry, reported the ministry’s press service.  Darkhan Kydyrali, Acting Minister of Information and Social Development, said the awards are intended to enhance the standard of domestic…

ASTANA – Astana will host the FIDE World Chess Championship 2023 from April 7 to May 1, as announced by the International Chess Federation on March 23.  The championship will be contested by Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi and China’s Ding Liren after incumbent champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title. Ding Liren finished as…

ASTANA – The gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in Kazakhstan reached $28 billion in 2022, a record-high in the past ten years, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry.  FDI inflow went up by 17.7 percent since 2021 when it reached $23.8 billion. In 2012, this figure stood at $28.9 billion. The top investing countries in…

ASTANA – A 33-year-old Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic beat Kazakhstan’s top seed Elena Rybakina, 23, in straight sets 7-6, 6-2 at the Miami Open 2023 Tennis Tournament at Hard Rock Stadium on April 1, reported Sports.kz. Rybakina’s career-best 13-match winning streak was snapped, ending her hopes of claiming the “Sunshine Double” of both…

ASTANA – Nine former law enforcement officers have so far been sentenced to prison for torture, while other legal proceedings are underway in connection to the January 2022 events, Kazakh Deputy Prosecutor General Bulat Dembayev said during a March 31 meeting on preventing torture.  The General Prosecutor’s Office hosted the round table meeting with non-governmental…

ASTANA – The League of Arab States (LAS) expressed its interest in participation in the upcoming Astana International Forum (AIF) on June 8-9, said LAS Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit during his meeting with Kazakh Ambassador to Egypt Kairat Lama Sharif on March 29 in Cairo, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service.  The diplomats agreed…

ASTANA – Dozens of camera traps have recorded rare footage of snow leopards, Kazakh argali (mountain sheep), and bears in the Zhongar-Alatau mountains, reported Tabigat National Union of Hunters on March 27. As part of the project to develop sustainable tourism, the union’s experts, zoologists and rangers monitored snow leopards and other animals on the…

ASTANA – President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev extending gratitude for the support and emergency assistance provided by Kazakhstan to the Turkish people after the Feb. 6 devastating earthquake in Türkiye and Syria, reported the Akorda press service on March 30. “During a natural disaster, the solidarity…

ASTANA – The online festival organized by the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports and TikTok to mark Nauryz garnered more than 120 million views, reported the ministry’s press service on March 29. As part of the festival with the Nauryz2023 hashtag, Kazakh citizens created and posted videos on the platform showing how they celebrate…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will provide 550 scholarships to foreign nationals, including 490 for bachelor’s degrees, 50 for master’s degrees, and ten for PhD, reported the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Education and Science on March 31.  Applications are open from March 30 through June 30. The ministry’s National Center for the Development of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s imports of goods from the European Union (EU) grew by 89 percent to $1.5 billion in two months this year compared to the same period in 2022, reaching the highest figure in recent years, reported Kazakhstan’s Economic Research Institute on March 30. The growth was driven by a surge in imports of…

ASTANA – The senior officials of the governments of the United States, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan affirmed their common objectives and commitments to improving cooperation and enhancing opportunities for trade and investment as part of the council meeting of the U.S. – Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) held in…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Wimbledon Champion and World No. 7 Elena Rybakina, 23, made it to the finals at the Miami Open by beating World No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States 7:6 (3), 6:4 at Hard Rock Stadium on March 31. Rybakina became the first female player to achieve Serena Williams’ record serving more…

ASTANA – The Caspian seal population in Kazakhstan’s part of the Caspian Sea is now approximately 311,000, the press service of the country’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources reported on March 29.  The declining population of the Caspian seal has long been a major concern for Kazakh ecologists. Last autumn, the seal population in…

ASTANA – A regional personnel reserve will be established in Kazakhstan this year by a presidential decree, said Ainur Sergaziyeva, deputy chairwoman of the Agency for Civil Service Affairs, at a March 30 meeting with the Senate, the upper chamber of the Parliament, the agency’s press service reported. “This will serve as a social lift…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan needs to gain a foothold as a key regional investment hub, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a plenary session of the Mazhilis, lower chamber of the Parliament on March 30, the Akorda press service reported. Tokayev stressed the importance of consistently diversifying and strengthening market-based principles to change the economic development model…

ASTANA – The Turkic Investment Fund under the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will have an authorized capital of $500 million, according to a draft bill published on Kazakhstan’s Open Normative Legal Acts website.  OTS heads of state signed an agreement to create the fund during the OTS Extraordinary Summit in Ankara on March 16.…

ASTANA – The Embassy of Italy in Kazakhstan presented the Together Towards 2050 website that includes an action plan built on three axes: cooperation, innovation, and education, reported the еmbassy’s press service on March 29. The plan’s thirty objectives aim to strengthen cooperation and elevate relations between the two countries to a new level. “Last…