Articles by Aigerim Seisembayeva

LONDON – Various Kazakh and British companies and institutions signed agreements and memoranda Oct. 23-24 during the visit of Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko to London. Vassilenko also participated in the sixth meeting of the UK-Kazakhstan Intergovernmental Commission. The visit started with the Kazakhstan Global Investment Forum 2019 organised by Financial Times Live, fDi…

ASTANA – At the invitation of the U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Kairat Abdrakhmanov attended July 25-26 the first Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in Washington, D.C, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reports. In his opening speech, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence stated ensuring religious freedom is one…

ASTANA – The Constitutional Council gave final approval June 28 to legislation granting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev the right to head the country’s Security Council for life. The law stipulating his new status was published July 12 in the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda national newspaper and came into force. The county’s parliament passed the bill May 31.…

ASTANA – Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan paid an official visit to Kazakhstan July 4-5 to meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and participate in the official launch of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The sides discussed…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on June 19 declared Shymkent city in Southern Kazakhstan a city of “national significance,” as it joined the other two cities with such status in the country, Astana and Almaty. Another presidential decree, signed publicly at the Akorda presidential residence, changed the name of the Southern Kazakhstan region to…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and President Rustam Minnikhanov of Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan discussed bilateral ties during Nazarbayev’s June 14-15 visit to Kazan, Akorda reports. Nazarbayev praised Tatarstan’s social development and economic growth and outlined areas to increase bilateral cooperation. The Kazakh President also praised the close relationship and the importance of deepening…

ASTANA – Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov briefed members of the European Business Association of Kazakhstan (EUROBAK) and members of the diplomatic corps on Kazakhstan’s efforts to improve the business climate during a June 12 meeting in Astana. EUROBAK includes leaders of business associations and companies operating in Kazakhstan, including Deloitte, Ernst and Young, Siemens, KPMG…

ASTANA – The Kazakh government appointed June 6-7 five new vice ministers to oversee digitisation within their ministries. They join Deputy Prime Minister Askar Zhumagaliyev who is responsible for overseeing the country’s digitisation process and who is colloquially known as “chief digital officer.” The new appointees, in turn, were immediately dubbed “digitisation commissars” as part…

ASTANA – The 31st plenary session of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Investors’ Council themed “Accelerated modernisation” discussed digital transformation, new technologies and prospects for further economic growth at a June 6 meeting here. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev briefed the session on Kazakhstan’s efforts to ensure the stability of the national economy in the face of global challenges.…

ASTANA – Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) heads of government, including Kazakh Prime Minster Bakytzhan Sagintayev, discussed economic interaction and cooperation within the Commonwealth in areas such as energy development and intellectual property during a June 1 meeting in Dushanbe. In addition to Sagintayev, the prime ministers of Belarus – Andrei Kobyakov, Kyrgyzstan – Muhammetkaliy…

ASTANA – More than 500 people participated in a May 29 foreign students’ forum at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (ENU) to discuss the Ruhani Zhangyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) programme, the university’s press service reports. Participants discussed ways to expand the international impact of the programme, which was initiated in April 2017 by Kazakh…

ASTANA – Fifteen international journalists toured Astana and Almaty city as well as the Almaty and Mangistau regions May 24-31, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reports. The group included arts and culture journalists and bloggers from China, Egypt, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry organised the…

ASTANA – Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states and China signed May 17 a trade and economic cooperation agreement, the first major arrangement between them. “The general provisions of the agreement are consistent with the World Trade Organisation principles,” said Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Board Chair Tigran Sargsyan, one of the signatories of the agreement.…

ASTANA – Kazakh and U.S. government officials and business executives discussed May 16 the implementation of commercial agreements reached during President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s January 2018 official visit to the United States and increasing trade and investment cooperation during the Second Kazakhstan Competitiveness Forum. Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin briefed the gathering on the…

ASTANA – Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mikheil Janelidze discussed bilateral cooperation May 16 in Astana with top Kazakh government officials. Janelidze met with Kazakh Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) Speaker Nurlan Nigmatulin to discuss bilateral cooperation, parlam.kz reports. Nigmatulin said recent bilateral contacts demonstrate mutual interest in trade, economic, cultural and international…

ASTANA – Kazakh and European parliamentary officials reconfirmed mutual commitment to strengthening ties as they adopted a joint declaration following the May 10 15th annual session of the Kazakhstan-European Union (EU) Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC). The members of both parliaments, according to the Kazakh Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) discussed Kazakh and EU foreign and…

ASTANA – Kazakh-Uzbek trade grew 50 percent in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year and the countries are working to grow trade to $3 billion by the end of the year, said Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin during a May 4 working visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Mamin…

ASTANA – The May 4-5 45th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Dhaka, Bangladesh addressed issues facing the international Islamic community, including the humanitarian crisis resulting from the mass exodus of the Rohingya people from Myanmar, Bangladesh’s neighbour. “While visiting Rohingya refugee camps, we had a…

ASTANA – Kazakh and United Kingdom officials recently discussed the possibility of signing a strategic partnership agreement to utilise the British model of developing IT projects in Kazakhstan’s national digitisation programme. The agreement would be between Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Information and Communications and the UK’s Government Digital Service and would involve governmental and IT business…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev took part April 28 in the 26th session of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK), reported Akorda.kz. The main topic was the President’s recent Five Social Initiatives aimed at improving the lives of Kazakh citizens. The session gathered 413 of 466 APK members from all the regions…

ASTANA ­– The results of last year’s preventive visits to detention facilities were presented at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry April 26 as part of the second, two-day National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) forum, “Prevention of torture through joint efforts of national human rights institutions and the NPM.” The NPM’s fourth consolidated report contains an analysis of…

ASTANA – Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member state foreign ministers agreed April 24 on the agenda of the SCO summit to be held this June in Qingdao, Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reports. It will be the first time the SCO heads of state will meet after admitting new members, India and Pakistan, at a…

ASTANA – Ninety second-year master students and 10 doctoral students from Kazakhstan will be sent to French higher education institutions under the new joint Abai-Verne Programme. The agreement on implementing the programme was signed April 19 by the Kazakh Ministry of Education and Science and the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Kazakh…

ASTANA – Eighteen of the world’s best humanities textbooks translated into Kazakh were presented April 12 to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, reported the Akorda. The event was held under the New Humanitarian Knowledge, 100 New Textbooks in Kazakh project, part of Rukhani Janghyru (Modernisation of Kazakhstan’s Identity) programme. Nazarbayev stressed the project’s important role in…

ASTANA – Leaders of five Central Asian states met March 15 in Astana in such a format for the first time in 10 years to address regional challenges, such as borders, water resource management and regional security. The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan attended. Turkmenistan was represented by its Parliament’s Speaker Akja Nurberdyeva…

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced March 5 what he called “Five Social Initiatives,” including tax breaks for low-income workers and greater access to education, that are expected to directly positively impact half of the country’s 18 million people. The other initiatives include increased access to low-cost mortgages and expanded business microloans as well as…

ASTANA – The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) determined Feb. 13 that Kazakhstan has made meaningful progress overall in implementing the EITI Standard. The decision was made based on the validation process conducted by the EITI starting from July 1, 2017. Validation is the EITI’s independent evaluation mechanism that assesses countries against progress made in…

ASTANA – Kazakh government officials and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) discussed mitigating the effects of the shrinking Aral Sea during a Feb. 19 symposium in Astana. Over the past 40-45 years, the level of the sea has declined 22 metres, the water volume has decreased tenfold and the salinity has reached…

ASTANA – The Ministry of National Economy leadership outlined Kazakhstan’s economic results for 2017 and shared its plans for the current year at a Feb. 12 press conference, reported the ministry press service. Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4 percent in 2017, said National Economy First Vice Minister Ruslan Dalenov. The outcome was determined…

ASTANA – Members of the Kazakh government reported to President Nursutlan Nazarbayev during the Feb. 9 extended government meeting, outlining the key outcomes of 2017 and setting goals for the coming years. Opening the meeting that lasted for more than three hours, President Nazarbayev said the past year was tough and marked by an unstable…

ASTANA – The Eurasian Economic Union’s (EAEU) digital agenda and mechanisms for implementing policies were the main topics of the Feb. 2 meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city. The meeting resulted in the adoption of 14 documents, including an agreement on labeling goods and a treaty on pensions. The…

ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov presented Jan. 18 at a special event at UN headquarters in New York a proposed code of conduct to achieve a terrorism-free world by 2045, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reports. The proposal is an initiative of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and calls for the creation of a broad…

ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov recently briefed participants at a government hour at Kazakhstan’s Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament) on the country’s foreign policy in Asia, saying the foreign ministry has strengthened its economic component in the region. Speaking at the end of December 2017, Abdrakhmanov noted Asia’s growing political and economic role…

ASTANA – The new Kyrgyz President Sooronbay Jeenbekov arrived Dec. 25 in Astana for a two-day official visit to meet Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and other top officials for talks aimed at re-launching bilateral relations. Having discussed the state and prospects of cooperation, the two heads of state signed a number of bilateral documents, including…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s book “The Era of Independence” was presented in the capital Dec. 15 on the eve of the country’s Independence Day. The work outlines the sovereign state’s development stages and the challenges the young nation faced on its path to success. The publication reflects Kazakhstan’s newest history in a journalistic…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev presented awards to outstanding citizens and praised the nation’s accomplishments during the ceremony marking Kazakhstan’s Independence Day, the Akorda press service reported. “This day always brings feelings that do not abide the time – a special combination of pride, joy and excitement,” he said on Dec. 15. Nazarbayev said…

ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched Dec. 14 a new mobile app that will help Kazakh citizens find resources, understand local cultures and travel more safely abroad. The application, SmartTravelKZ, contains information about countries, regional peculiarities, standards of behaviour in different countries, recommendations on actions in hazardous situations, warnings about emergencies and…

ASTANA – The overwhelming majority of European Parliament (EP) members approved Dec. 12 the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between Kazakhstan and the European Union (EU) and its member states, the first of this kind concluded with a Central Asian country. The EPCA, signed in Astana Dec. 21, 2015 and temporarily applied since May…

ASTANA – A roadmap on bilateral economic cooperation, including on the situation on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border, was signed Dec. 2 by Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin and Kyrgyz Vice Prime Minister Tolkunbek Abdygulov during a visit of the Kyrgyz governmental delegation to Astana. The 50-point document was concluded upon Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s…

ASTANA – The Kazakh Parliament’s Mazhilis (lower chamber) gathered experts and politicians  from throughout the world in the capital Nov. 27 to discuss  the nation’s ongoing modernisation processes and exchange legislative support experiences used for reforms in different countries. “Kazakhstan’s modernisation model in the new global reality” international parliamentary conference, dedicated to the Day of…

ASTANA – The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), international centre for green technologies and international IT start-up hub are expected to begin operating on former EXPO 2017 premises in 2018. The news was announced during the EXPO 2017 legacy presentation to the diplomatic corps Nov. 15 at the Kazakh Foreign Ministry. “The President of the…

ASTANA – Participants in the Nov. 10 13th European Union – Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan adopted a joint communiqué reconfirming mutual commitment to jointly tackling economic, security and governance issues. Foreign ministers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the European Union’s (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy…

ASTANA – Foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan signed Nov. 10 in Samarkand a programme of cooperation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Central Asian States for 2018-2019. The five ministers met on the margins of several events taking place in the ancient city simultaneously, including the European Union – Central…

ASTANA – A number of interstate, intergovernmental, regional and commercial documents were signed Nov. 9 at the 14th Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia in Chelyabinsk. Visiting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin also signed a joint statement devoted to the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two…

ASTANA – The Council of Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) reached agreements during its Nov. 3 meeting in Tashkent defining and sharing the customs value of goods, efforts to combat terrorism and land reclamation, among other issues. The group also reached agreements concerning oil and gas engineering and preparations for…

ASTANA – King Abdullah II of Jordan was awarded the Nazarbayev Prize for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World and Global Security during his Nov. 1 official visit to Kazakhstan. The Jordanian monarch was decorated for his contribution to “regional stability, global security and steadfast stance against war and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” “This award…

ASTANA – The 826-km Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway route launched operations Oct. 30 with an opening ceremony at the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to a Kazakh Prime Minister’s office press release. The route has a current annual capacity of 1 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of freight with plans to…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan agreed during an Oct. 18 meeting in Astana of each country’s prime ministers to ensure priority crossing at the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border, especially in Kordai, for individuals with personal luggage, regular passenger buses, cars and empty cargo vehicles beginning at midnight October 19. The meeting to discuss customs, tax, transport, phytosanitary…

ASTANA – Public hearings on “Anti-corruption strategy: combining state and social efforts” were held Oct. 13 at the Civil Service Affairs and Anti-Corruption Agency. The hearings are the result of more than 70 roundtables and other large-scale events sponsored across the country in the last few months to discuss the anti-corruption strategy implementation plan for…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev congratulated via telegram Sooronbay Jeenbekov on his election as President of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Akorda press service reported. Nazarbayev said he believes Jeenbekov’s presidency will be good for the Kyrgyz Republic and that Kazakh-Kyrgyz Republic cooperation will continue under Jeenbekov’s leadership. “I believe that Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan’s relations…

ASTANA –  Delegations led by Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev and Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Joanna Wronecka recently discussed cooperation within the United Nations Security Council at a meeting in Warsaw. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the sides discussed agreements reached during a Sept. 6 meeting in Astana between the countries’…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed measures to modernise the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) organisation during the Oct. 11 CIS Council of Heads of State meeting in Sochi, Russia. Nazarbayev also proposed during the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) meeting a gathering in 2018 to discuss digitisation of member states and noted the…

ASTANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov discussed preparations for the Nov. 9 14th Interregional Cooperation Forum in Chelyabinsk and attended the 4th International Forum of Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) alumni during Lavrov’s Oct. 6 visit to Kazakhstan. Abdrakhmanov said the interregional forum and the cross-border…

ASTANA ­– China recently agreed to a deal with KazTransGas to import 5 billion cubic metres of Kazakh natural gas during one calendar year, according to KazTransGas press service. The deal was signed between KazTransGas, which stands to earn $1 billion from the deal, and PetroChina International Company Limited with shipments to the Khorgos border…

ASTANA – Latvian President Raimonds Vejonis and Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin launched Sept. 29 via teleconference in Riga a new container service in the China-to-Europe transcontinental route, the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service reported. The container train’s route starts in Urumqi, China, runs through Kazakhstan, Russia and Latvia and then navigates through…

ASTANA – Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin announced at the Sept. 22 13th meeting of the Kazakh-Belarusian Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) for Trade and Economic Cooperation in Karagandy that trade with Belarus should be increased to $1 billion by 2020. On the sidelines of the commission meeting, Mamin and his Belarusian counterpart Vasily Matyushevsky…

ASTANA – Participants in the 2017 United Nations Programme of Fellowship on Disarmament met with Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko Sept. 20 during their three-day trip to Kazakhstan. Diplomats from 27 UN member states were received at the Foreign Ministry, where Vassilenko briefed them on the nation’s efforts to build a nuclear-weapons-free world. He stressed…

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s Sept. 16 state visit to Uzbekistan resulted in ten bilateral documents inked by Kazakh and Uzbek governmental bodies and state-owned companies. The following day, he travelled to Ashgabat to meet with Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and attend the opening ceremony of the fifth Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG).…

ASTANA – President Nursultan Nazarbayev praised the outcomes of EXPO 2017 and stressed the significance of the recent first Organisation for Islamic Cooperation Science and Technology Summit in Astana, among other topics discussed, during a Sept. 14 press conference. The President said it was a significant accomplishment to win the bid among 162 countries to…

ASTANA – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev oversaw the signing Sept. 9 in Astana of protocols to the New Synergy Joint Economic Programme for 2017 through 2020, which includes 26 projects totalling $1 billion. Turkish business leaders accompanying Erdogan also signed nine investment agreements with the Kazakh Invest national company…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Polish President Andrzej Duda held talks here during the Polish leader’s state visit to Kazakhstan Sept. 6 and witnessed the signing of the charter to the Green Bridge Partnership Programme and a ministerial agreement on economic cooperation. The two leaders also addressed a Kazakh-Polish business forum which saw…

ASTANA – The third session of the Kazakh Parliament’s sixth convocation opened Sept. 4 with President Nursultan Nazarbayev setting the legislature’s tasks for the coming 10 months. Speaking before the members of both chambers, Nazarbayev summed up the results of Parliament’s work during the previous session and stressed the importance of continuing the current legislative…

ASTANA – Erik Solheim, head of the UN Environment Programme and Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, visited Astana late last month to meet with senior Kazakh officials and discuss joint activities, as well as become acquainted with the future-energy themed EXPO 2017. The Astana Times had the opportunity to interview the Norwegian-born diplomat. First of…

ASTANA – The Consultative Advisory Body (CAB) of the Dialogue Platform on Human Dimension discussed during its Aug. 28 meeting Kazakhstan’s fulfillment of UN conventions and other civil issues. Government and nongovernmental organisation representatives as well as diplomats from various observer missions met at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss implementation of the provisions…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan condemned during the Aug. 29 meeting of the UN Security Council the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) launch of a ballistic missile over Japan on Aug. 28. Kazakhstan also supported the statement by the president of the council condemning the launch. “We are in solidarity with Japan, as the ballistic missiles…

ASTANA ­– Trade within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and with non-member states grew by more than 27 percent in the first half of 2017. Trade with non-member states compared to the same period in 2016 grew by 27.8 percent ($63.5 billion) and trade within the union increased 27 percent ($5.3 billion). The volume of…

ASTANA – The Kazakh Foreign Ministry and Chief Editors’ Club awarded Aug. 21 the winners of the Fourth International Kazakhstan through the Eyes of Foreign Media Contest. Authors from Azerbaijan, Israel, Italy, Canada, and the Republic of Korea were presented with diplomas, souvenirs and a trip to Kazakhstan. In his welcoming speech, Foreign Minister Kairat…

ASTANA – EXPO 2017 recently reached 2.5 million visitors one month ahead of its closing, according to a report presented by Astana EXPO 2017 national company Chairman Akhmetzhan Yessimov to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. “The number of exhibition visitors was expected to reach two million in three months. To date, this number hit 2.5 million.…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan initiated discussions during the Aug. 14 Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting about creating a common financial and labour market, adopting shipping contracts and removing technical barriers to trade with non-member countries. The meeting was conducted during EXPO 2017 and included the heads of government of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. It was…

ASTANA – Swiss President Doris Leuthard paid her inaugural visit to Kazakhstan Aug. 11 to unveil Swiss National Day at EXPO 2017 and meet with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Kazakh-Swiss cooperation documents were also signed as part of the trip. The discussion between the two leaders acknowledged the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the…

ASTANA – The Kazakh economy grew 4.2 percent, the unemployment rate was 4.9 percent and investment in fixed assets increased 3.7 percent over the first seven months of this year, according to a report presented August 7 by Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev to President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Inflation increased 0.1 percent compared to June last…

ASTANA – On behalf of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov took part in the Aug. 5 official inauguration ceremony of newly elected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. “Today is a big day not only for Iran, but also for all the friends of your country. I am honoured to congratulate you on behalf…

ASTANA – Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Viorel Meleșcanu visited Kazakhstan July 27-28 to mark the 25th anniversary of Kazakh-Romanian relations and participate in Romanian National Day at EXPO 2017. Meleșcanu began the trip by meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev to discuss further developing trade and economic cooperation in energy, machine building,…

ASTANA – Kazakh rail cargo transportation grew 13 percent in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016, reaching 128 million tonnes, announced the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company during a July 27 meeting to summarise the results of the first half of 2017 and outline priorities for the…

ASTANA – High-level representatives of the Islamic world confirmed their participation in the first Summit on Science and Technology in Astana during the 44th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) July 9-11 in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire). Kazakhstan’s official delegation headed by the President’s Special Envoy and Deputy…

ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov during the July 11 Ministerial Meeting of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna expressed support for Austria’s OSCE chairpersonship as well as a common Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security vision and briefed participants on Kazakhstan’s plans for its 2017-2018 United Nations Security Council membership…

ASTANA – “Kazakhstan and Germany – 25 Years of Partnership: Cooperation in Energy, Technology and Raw Materials” was the topic of the 20th anniversary meeting of the Berlin Eurasian Club (BEC), held in Astana July 10. Executive Secretary of the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports Kuatzhan Ualiyev opened the meeting which took place at…

ASTANA – The Kazakh Foreign Ministry and Kazakhstan’s Chief Editors Club announced July 10 the winners of the Fourth International “Kazakhstan Through the Eyes of Foreign Media” contest. Authors from Azerbaijan, Belgium, Canada, Israel and South Korea won from each of their respective geographical regions and will make a week-long trip to Kazakhstan in August…

ASTANA – The Kazakh President’s Special Envoy on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Deputy Foreign Minister Akylbek Kamaldinov visited Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine July 4-8, where he held high-level meetings and first-in-history political consultations. The sides discussed the upcoming Organisation for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit on science and technology, EXPO 2017, the Astana…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev recently thanked Kazakh scientists and forest rangers for creating the man-made forest belt that surrounds the city. “I would like to thank the scientists and forest rangers for their work. It is not so easy to grow trees in this area. Now we have a big forest here that…

ASTANA – Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester officially opened June 26 the British national pavilion at EXPO 2017 as part of the National Day of Great Britain in Kazakhstan. British national day celebrations included a ballet, musical performances and a reading session. The national day was opened with the raising of the national flags and…

ASTANA – Prominent Kazakh diplomat Nurlan Onzhanov presented his book “Peacemaker: The Syrian Knot” during a June 29 international conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s diplomatic service. Foreign diplomats, political scientists, experts and journalists attended. Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov told the gathering the book is devoted to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s efforts to…

ASTANA – President of Finland Sauli Niinistö visited Astana June 20 for meeting Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and to jointly opening Finland’s pavilion at EXPO 2017. The opening ceremony coincided with the celebration of Finland’s national day at the expo and the 100th anniversary of Finland’s independence. The two heads of state visited the exhibits…

ASTANA – Kazakh GDP grew 4.1 percent in January-May compared to the same period in 2016, said Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov during a June 13 government meeting. Over the same period, inflation was 3.3 percent. Inflation in annual terms dropped to 7.5 percent compared to 16.7 percent in May 2016. Monthly inflation in…

ASTANA – ­­Kazakhstan and Russia have agreed to accelerate implementing the Baiterek project and reschedule the new manned rocket’s launch from 2025 to 2022. The announcement was made June 13 at the fifth session of the Kazakh-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for the Baikonur complex. Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin and Russian Deputy Prime Minister…

ASTANA – Low Enriched Uranium Bank (LEU Bank), being established in Kazakhstan under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was a primary topic at the June 8-10 high-level nuclear security and nonproliferation conference in Oslo, Norway. “This will serve as a last-resort mechanism to provide confidence to countries that they will be…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev took part May 31 in a wreath-laying ceremony at the ALZHIR memorial complex of victims of political repressions and totalitarianism. The same day, a monument to the 1931-1933 famine victims was unveiled in Almaty. The wreath-laying ceremony was attended by relatives and friends of victims of political repressions and…

ASTANA – LOT Polish Airlines conducted its first flight from Warsaw to Astana, Poland’s first ever air link to Kazakhstan, and held a flight presentation ceremony May 30 in Astana. LOT’s Boeing 737-800 NG will operate four weekly return services. The first flight from Warsaw to Astana took off at 10:50 pm, and after five…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev awarded diplomas May 27 to the graduates of Nazarbayev University (NU). The commencement was followed by a meeting of the NU Supreme Board of Trustees, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and Nazarbayev Foundation to discuss the autonomous educational organisations’ development prospects. Despite the pouring rain, the first part of the ceremony…

ASTANA – The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) recognised Kazakhstan May 25 as a zone free from foot and mouth disease (FMD). This will enhance Kazakhstan’s agricultural export to the member states of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Prime Minister’s press service reports.   First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Kazakhstan Kairat Aituganov…

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev signed economic cooperation agreements and protocols May 26 with Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) heads of government in Kazan, Russia. Sagintayev attended a regular meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of Government meant to enhance cooperation in transport security, geodesy and radio…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry announced May 19 the call for applications to the fourth annual International “Kazakhstan through the Eyes of Foreign Media” contest. The contest seeks to recognise authors of the best journalistic reports, stories and analytical pieces about Kazakhstan, which have been published in foreign media between Jan. 1 and June 25.…

ASTANA – Approximately 6,500 residents in the Karagandy and Mangystau regions have received medical treatment from medical trains at more than 30 stations since the first train began operating April 11, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company’s press service reported May 16. The trains are staffed by medical teams formed under the Densaulyk and…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan presented May 10-12 its transport and logistics opportunities and discussed its potential to become a financial hub at the IX European Economic Congress in Katowice, Poland, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) press service reports. Kazakhstan’s delegation briefed the conference participants on the country’s transport infrastructure and the creation of favourable conditions for implementing…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company presented May 4-5 Kazakhstan’s transit-transport development, multimodal logistics, freight traffic and infrastructure opportunities at the Turkmenistan International Transport and Logistics Conference, KTZ press service reports. KTZ Vice President for Logistics Sanzhar Elyubayev briefed the conference on Kazakhstan’s transit-transport potential as well as the Kazakhstan 2050 Strategy,…

ASTANA – Senior Kazakh officials last week toured Latin American countries to promote Kazakhstan’s business opportunities while Mexican business representatives visited Kazakhstan to explore investment opportunities. Kazakh and Chilean government representatives discussed bilateral relations during a May 3 meeting in Santiago focusing on business and trade. Head of the Kazakh delegation Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan…

ASTANA – Relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan received another boost when the two countries’ leaders met April 29 in Saryagash, a small Kazakh town famous for its healing mineral waters located a mere 23 kilometres away from the Uzbek capital. The meeting between Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, took place…

ASTANA – Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait April 23-26 to invite their heads of state to participate in the Sept. 10-11 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Science And Technology Summit in Astana, as well as to advance bilateral relations and to discuss the efforts to put an end…

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev and other top officials presented April 27 the outlines of the draft National Investment Attraction and Retention Strategy and the recently created Kazakh Invest national company as part of efforts to further attract foreign capital. “Today, we are ready to present our vision of the solution to the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan renewed its call for a cut in global military spending on the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) in an April 24 statement published by the country’s Foreign Ministry. The aim of the GDAMS 10-day campaign that started April 18 is to push governments to invest money in health, education, employment and…