New Kazakh President sworn in, praises predecessor, pledges continuity
ASTANA – The new President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was sworn in March 20 during a joint session of the chambers of the Kazakh Parliament. Tokayev was sworn in following the surprise resignation March 19 of Kazakhstan’s founding and only previous President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Tokayev, who had been serving as the Senate Speaker, dedicated his…
Kazakhstan achieves its UN Security Council membership goals, says foreign minister
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has completed the tasks set out by President Nursultan Nazarbayev for the country’s two-year, non-permanent 2017-2018 United Nations Security Council membership, Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov told the Mazhilis (lower house of the parliament) March 4. The President laid out the country’s goals at the start of its membership in an address to…
Inclusive global dialogue is Kazakh foreign policy priority, new FM tells diplomatic corps in annual briefing
ASTANA – One of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities is to pursue inclusive dialogue between leading powers to overcome “bloc thinking” and reach consensus on key global issues, new Kazakh Foreign Minister Beibut Atamkulov told ambassadors and envoys during his first meeting with the diplomatic corps in Astana on Feb. 7, according to the ministry’s press…
Eurasian Economic Union leaders discuss trade, digital economy in St. Petersburg
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev participated in the Dec. 6 Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (EEC) and the informal summit of the leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in St. Petersburg, Russia. The group discussed Russia’s 2018 chairmanship of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and increasing cooperation in trade, energy, the digital economy…
Kazakhstan presents proposals for new EU Strategy on Central Asia
BRUSSELS – The Belgian capital hosted the Nov. 23 European Union-Central Asia ministerial meeting attended by the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini. The agenda focused on a new draft of the EU Strategy on Central Asia. According…
Nazarbayev, Putin discuss tourism at interregional forum
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Russian President Vladimir Putin met Nov. 9 in Petropavlovsk, Russia on the sidelines of the 15th Kazakhstan-Russia Interregional Cooperation Forum. The presidents were briefed during their meeting on the development of the Baikonur space complex, the construction of social facilities, the repair of infrastructure networks and the gasification…
CIS heads of government council in Astana: Kazakhstan calls for expanding trade relations
ASTANA – The heads of government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) discussed 15 agenda items during a scheduled council meeting in the Kazakh capital on Nov. 2. CIS is composed of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. One of the areas of focus was enhancing economic and trade cooperation.…
New Kyrgyz foreign minister visits Astana to reaffirm ties
ASTANA – The newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Chingiz Aydarbekov visited Astana Oct. 27 to meet with his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov to discuss the strategic partnership between the two countries. “We attach a particular importance to the relations between our two fraternal countries and regard each other as strategic partners and…
U.S. Commerce Secretary, business delegation tour Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met Oct. 24 with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in Astana on Ross’s first day in Kazakhstan. Ross visited Kazakhstan for three days as part of a Central Asian tour and also met with Kazakh Prime Minister Bakytzhan Sagintayev, government ministers and officials overseeing economy, trade and investments.…
Key Belt and Road node bears potential for much gain for Kazakhstan, China and beyond
KHORGOS – A large group of foreign ambassadors, local and international journalists toured Oct. 6 the area of the Kazakh-Chinese border that includes the Khorgos Eastern Gate Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the Khorgos Dry Port and the Khorgos International Centre of Boundary Cooperation (ICBC). Kazakh officials organised the tour for around 45 foreign diplomats and…
Nazarbayev calls for CIS trade liberalisation
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to liberalise trade between members during the Sept. 28 CIS Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Nazarbayev proposed removing trade barriers between member states, expanding trade deals and optimising transit routes. He also suggested more joint projects in science and…
Kazakhstan, China sign $1.9 billion investment agreements in Beijing
ASTANA – First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin and First Vice Premier of the State Council of China and co-Chairman of the Kazakhstan-China Cooperation Committee Han Zheng oversaw the signing of agreements and contracts for 11 new joint projects worth $1.9 billion during Mamin’s Sept. 26 visit to Beijing. Mamin also met during…
Kazakh President meets with Turkish President, business leaders in Ankara
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev held bilateral talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, participated in the Third Meeting of the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and met with Turkish business leaders during a Sept. 13 official visit to Turkey. “Relations between Kazakhstan and Turkey are developing in the spirit of strategic partnership, an important…
Kazakh President urges joint Parliament session to pursue socio-economic development
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev opened the fourth session of the Kazakh Parliament Sept. 1 at the joint sitting of the Senate and Mazhilis (lower house of Parliament). He praised Parliament members’ work and collaboration with the government. Heads of state authorities of all branches, public figures, leaders of religious associations, NGOs as well…
Kazakh Constitution has withstood the test of time, says President
ASTANA – The Nazarbayev Centre hosted Aug. 28-29 the conference, A Constitution: the Embodiment of the Values of the Rule of Law, Civil Society and the Modern State. The conference was dedicated to Kazakhstan’s Aug. 29 Constitution Day. The event was organised by the Constitutional Council of Kazakhstan, the Foundation of the First President of…
Conference on empowerment of Afghan women secures €2 million education pledge, calls for enhanced application of international norms
ASTANA – The Kazakh capital hosted Sept. 5 the Regional Conference on Women’s Empowerment in Afghanistan. It was held six months after Kazakhstan announced the event during a March 8 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Afghanistan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the European Union, as well as the Foundation of the…
Central Asian leaders hold first Aral Sea summit since 2009, agree to develop action plan
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged an Aug. 24 summit of the heads of the founding states of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS) in Turkmenbashi city, Turkmenistan to reorganise the IFAS to better protect the environmentally-damaged water body. “It is time to automate the management, distribution, the accounting and monitoring…
Kazakhstan launches a multimodal transport hub on Caspian shores
AKTAU – President Nursultan Nazarbayev officially inaugurated the ferry complex of the Kuryk Port – a multimodal hub on the shore of Caspian Sea on Aug. 11. The port will link several Eurasian highway and railway transit corridors to the sea and is part of the country’s Nurly Zhol (Bright Path) infrastructure development programme. Transport…
Caspian Sea nations sign historic convention laying solid framework for use of resource-rich sea
AKTAU – After two decades of diplomatic efforts, the five Caspian Sea nations signed the convention on the water reservoir legal status that had been in the works since 1996. In addition, six more documents were signed on various aspects of cooperation. The convention and the agreements were signed on the International Day of the…
Kazakh Foreign Ministry presents journalism awards
ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded the winners of the fifth annual Kazakhstan through the Eyes of Foreign Media contest at an Aug. 6 ceremony. The contest seeks to promote professional reporting on Kazakhstan in the foreign media by recognising the authors of the most objective journalistic reports, stories and analytical pieces. The…
EU, Central Asian delegations hold political, security talks in Ashgabat
ASTANA – Delegations from Central Asian foreign ministries and from European External Action Service (EEAS) held the fifth annual High Level Dialogue (HLD) on Political and Security matters in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, on July 9. Central Asian authorities and the EU are working to present the updated EU Strategy on Central Asia aimed at upgrading relations…
Central Asian leaders attend Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) launch
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan toured the digitisation exhibition as part of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) opening. “AIFC participants will have access to the capital not only of Kazakhstan and the region, but the whole world. Unprecedented conditions have been created here that have no…
Nazarbayev calls for greater multilateral economic cooperation within SCO
ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed the 18th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) June 9 in Qingdao, China calling for greater multilateral economic cooperation among its eight member states. Nazarbayev told the gathering the recent addition of India and Pakistan has increased the organisation’s international influence. “After the accession of India and…
Nazarbayev meets Chinese president, business circles, on state visit to Beijing
ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Beijing for a state visit to China on June 6-8. The relationship between Kazakhstan and China has grown increasingly close in recent years: since 2012, the two countries have seen 18 meetings at the highest level and signed 127 bilateral documents for a total of about $67…
Astana supports international cooperation, peace, security, experts attest
ASTANA – “Astana is a symbol of modern, prosperous Kazakhstan and the flagship of the whole country, representing first of all a victory by the nation’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev,” Kazakh Foreign Minister Kairat Abdrakhmanov said to open the June 5 international conference. Marking the 20th anniversary of the capital city, the conference, titled Astana: City…
