Long-Term Regional Stability Is an Institutional Challenge
‘Economy first, politics second’ has always been the motto of independent Kazakhstan but sometimes you cannot have the first without the latter. The political climate must allow for economic growth. President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s strategy Kazakhstan 2050 is in fact a new political course that sets the goal of the country making it into the top…
In Kazakhstan, Latvian President Remembers Tragic Past, Looks towards Economic Future
ASTANA – Relations between Kazakhstan and Latvia are marked by the development of close ties across numerous sectors and the June 2-4 visit to Kazakhstan by Latvian President Andris Berzins further strengthened this relationship. During his visit, Berzins met with Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov and Chairman of the Mazhilis of the…
Gov’t Continues Work on Innovation Technologies Park near Almaty
Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited the Special Economic Zone Park, known as the Park of Innovation Technologies, near Almaty and got acquainted and with the production processes of the zone’s enterprises. President Nazarbayev saw the presentations of projects of the second stage of development of the park implemented by such companies and organizations as SAT&Co,…
Punching within Its Weight, Responsibly
Kazakhstan is not a very large country. Today’s world places more value on economic scale, rather than territorial boundaries or the sheer number of people. Against the backdrop of neighbouring Russia and China, this 16 million people landlocked country could have been lost in the shadows and left on the sidelines. It could have, but…
143,000 Students Graduate from Secondary Schools
The last bell has sounded for 143,000 graduates of secondary schools in the country at the end of May. The last bell is a traditional ceremony in the schools of post-Soviet countries. The celebration is carried out just after all the studies are finished, but before the final exams. The date usually falls on May…
The Importance of National Unity
Kazakhstan is a large and multi-faceted country. Not only is it rich in mineral and other natural resources, its human capital is also enviable. High literacy rates, health standards and favourable relations with other countries allow the citizens of the country to live comfortably and make the most of their opportunities. Independence from the Moscow-dominated…
Government Seeks Additional Pension Fund Reform
ASTANA – “The pension reform proposed by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is aimed at ensuring worthy lives for the people of Kazakhstan in old age,” Kazakhstan Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov said recently. “Today’s reforms for modernizing the pension system are, of course, aimed at the development of our country,” Akhmetov said during…
The Importance of National Unity: Citizenship in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is a large and multi-faceted country. Not only is it rich in mineral and other natural resources, its human capital is also enviable. High literacy rates, health standards and favourable relations with other countries allow the citizens of the country to live comfortably and make the most of their opportunities. Independence from the Moscow-dominated…
Person of the Month Cavallo Domingo is answering questions on G-Global website
G-Global’s Person of the Month for May, former Argentine Central Bank Chairman and Economics Minister Cavallo Domingo, has begun discussing global economic issues online with users of the G-Global website. Domingo was Argentina’s Central Bank chairman in 1982. He served as minister of Economics from 1991 to 1996 and again in 2001. He was minister…
Afghanistan Faces Uncertain Future, Needs All Assistance It Can Get
The socio-economic situation in Afghanistan has been improving gradually and slowly. However, it continues to cause great concern to the international community, especially with regard to the upcoming withdrawal of coalition forces from that country. The main causes of this situation in Afghanistan is the difficulty for the government, despite the assistance of many countries,…
German Writer Created In-Depth English Guide to Kazakhstan
Larger than all of Western Europe, Kazakhstan’s vast expanse encompasses the Great Steppe, the heights of the Tien Shan Mountains in the south, the exquisite lakes and valleys of the Altai Mountains in the northeast and the archeologically rich desert coast of the Caspian Sea in the far west. Now, this land of rich history,…
Afghans Appreciate Kazakhstan’s “Very Honest” Approach
The following is an interview with Dr. Sohrab Ali Saffary, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the Republic of Kazakhstan How do you see the bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan? I think they are very good, but we need to improve, to develop them. Since the defeat of the…
Experts: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan Have Lots in Common, Will Benefit from More Coop
The recent World Economic Forum in Baku was attended by experienced senior Kazakh executives in the fields of oil and gas and banking, including Sabr Yessimbekov and Aidan Karibzhanov. Both provided The Astana Times with their views on regional cooperation. Sabr Yessimbekov, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kazakhstan The main cooperation between our…
Regional Cooperation Key to Peace and Stability
The most recent war in Afghanistan, known as Operation Enduring Freedom, has been going on since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., creating a spiraling effect on the region and the entire world. Getting rid of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and their Taliban hosts has been a mission that…
Middle Class Families Optimistic about Future
PAVLODAR – AKTAU – KARAGANDA – Kazakhstan’s middle class – the main social base for further development of the country – is growing in strength. In Western countries, the middle class accounts for 60 percent of the total adult population, well above the current level in Kazakhstan. However, in keeping with the strategic objective set…
Domestically Produced Cars Gaining Popularity in Public Sector
Kazakhstan produced 21,236 vehicles, including trucks, commercial and passenger cars, in 2012. State agencies purchased 12 percent of the production—2,553 cars—and bought 1,365 units of imported transport. The list of car models assembled in Kazakhstan continues to grow. It seems likely that the public sector preference in the future will tend increasingly toward domestically produced…
The aviation industry in Kazakhstan and making it better
Travelling across Kazakhstan is a lively affair, to say the least. To visit the family, attend a wedding, goon a business trip or simply for leisure, there are enough reasons for voyaging around the vast, 9th largest country in the world. Fifty six percent of the population live in 86 settlements that have the status…
EXPO Commissioner Sees New Era Starting from 2017 Event
ASTANA – Last year, the capital of Kazakhstan was chosen as the venue for international exhibition EXPO 2017, to be held in 2017. The General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) picked Astana over the Belgian city of Liege by 103 votes to 44. For the first time in the history of world industrial…
EXPO news in brief
During the working visit, the delegation of the companies’ group of Samruk Kazyna, headed by the Chairman of the Board Umirzak Shukeyev, met with the UK business community on March 7 in London. Charles Hendry, MP and Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Great Britain headed the British side. During the meeting, the sides…
Iran Celebrates No-Rooz, Spring New Year, As Others Join Holiday Mood
Happy New Year! March 21, the first day of spring, is traditionally No-Rooz (also called Nawruz), the Iranian New Year. Its customs have spread throughout Central Asia and beyond, and are celebrated in Kazakhstan as well as Nauryz. So here are some explanations of the traditions that came to epitomize the holiday. No-Rooz means “New…
Prevention Is New Strategy to Fight Corruption
The following is an interview with Rashid Tussupbekov, Chairman of the Agency on the Fight against Economic and Corruption Crimes (Financial Police). What main objectives did the Financial Police seek last year? Last year was an intense and a busy one for the Financial Police. We had to radically change repressive mentality, used to be…
Helping Semipalatinsk: A Job Half-Done
The Semipalatinsk nuclear test site in Kazakhstan was the location for almost a quarter of all nuclear weapons tests in the world since 1945. Their total number exceeded 2,000. From 1949 to 1989, 456 of them were carried out at Semipalatinsk, including more than 120 in the atmosphere. Their total destructive power was 2,500 times…
EU 3+3, Iran Agree to New Nuclear Talks in Almaty in April
ALMATY – High-level talks held this week between EU3+3 representatives and Iran over Iran’s nuclear program resulted in an agreement to continue negotiations April 5-6 in Almaty. That meeting will come soon after a technical experts meeting on the topic in Istanbul on March 18-19. The first day of the Almaty talks was Feb. 26…
A Question of Humanity
Those who forget the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. We are the Hibakusha, survivors of the nuclear bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and people harmed by years of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific and Kazakhstan. It is our hope that never again will anyone suffer the catastrophic humanitarian consequences caused…
Seven Children Get Expensive Care Abroad
Seven children were able to get expensive treatment abroad thanks to Alexandre Vinokurov, who put up his champion’s bike for a charity auction, and raised money amounting to 230,000 dollars donated to seriously ill children. Among those being helped there are children suffering from congenital heart desease, infantile cerebral paralysis, coarse nodular cirrhosis, chronic kidney…
