Turkish Airlines Launch Flights From Turkistan
NUR-SULTAN – Turkish Airlines launched flights from Turkistan to Istanbul on May 22, reports the Civil Aviation Committee. The launch of the new route is dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence. Flights will be operated once a week on Saturdays on Boeing 737 aircraft with plans to increase the frequency as the epidemiological…
Kazakhstan to Increase Share of Renewable Energy to 15 Percent by 2030
NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed the government to bring the share of renewable energy in the nation’s total energy grid to 15 percent by 2030 at the May 26 meeting that reviewed the development of the energy industry in Kazakhstan, reports the Akorda press service. While the development of renewable energy has been on…
Каzakhstan to Allocate Nearly $702 Million in 2021 to Its Employment Program
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will allocate 300 billion tenge (US$701.7 million) to its Employment Road Map program in 2021, said Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin at a May 25 government meeting. The roadmap has four areas – improving the quality of life, increasing access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses, development of agriculture, and development…
Kazakhstan Approved to Begin Selling on Amazon
NUR-SULTAN – E-commerce giant Amazon has added Kazakhstan to its list of countries accepted to register for selling on Amazon on May 20, the Kazakh Trade and Integration Ministry announced on Tuesday. “We are pleased to announce that Kazakh businesses can now sell on Amazon. We are ready to work with Kazakhstan’s dynamic business community,…
Kazakh PM Instructs Government to Accelerate Vaccine Rollout
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin has instructed his government to accelerate the vaccine rollout during a May 25 government meeting, as more than two million people in Kazakhstan have received at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, reports the Kazakh prime minister’s press service. As of May 25, 2,015,053 people have…
Kazakh, Tajik Businesses Sign Agreements Worth $100 Million in Dushanbe
NUR-SULTAN – Following last week’s official visit by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Dushanbe, the businesses of the two countries signed agreements worth $100 million, said Kazakh Minister of Trade and integration Bakhyt Sultanov. Sultanov, who has also been to Dushanbe as part of the delegation, noted the two countries have the potential to bring their…
Ashyq App Gives Hope to Businesses to Reopen
NUR-SULTAN – Since the outbreak of coronavirus last year in March, businesses in Kazakhstan have been reeling from the consequences, but the recent launch of the Ashyq system seems to have given hope to businesses for reopening. The system now includes 6,800 businesses, while another 600 are still waiting to join the system. The app…
President Tokayev Chairs Supreme Eurasian Economic Council Meeting
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chaired the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting on May 21 , reports the Akorda press service. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the highest supranational body of the Eurasian Economic Union that comprises Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. In 2021, Kazakhstan took over the presidency of the union…
UN General Assembly Commits to Support Initiatives to Revive Aral Sea
NUR-SULTAN – The United Nations General Assembly adopted a May 19 resolution on the Aral Sea region declaring it a zone of ecological innovations and technologies and committing to promote greater research and scientific efforts to recover the region and improve its environment, reports the UN press service. The resolution was initiated by Uzbek President…
Kazakhstan’s Air Travel Resumed With Thirteen Countries
NUR-SULTAN – As summer is just around the corner, Kazakhstan is gradually increasing international travel, giving people hope for a summer vacation. The nation has resumed air travel with 13 countries on 40 international routes with 117 flights a week, according to the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee. While more distant overseas destinations remain off-limit for…
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan Agree to Boost Trade, Strengthen Political Dialogue
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev began his two-day visit to Dushanbe May 19 meeting with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and other senior officials, reports the Akorda press service. Tokayev arrived in Dushanbe at the invitation of Emomali Rahmon for his first foreign trip in 2021. During their meeting Tokayev and Rahmon focusing on a…
Epidemiological Situation Steadily Stabilizing in Kazakhstan, Says Kazakh Healthcare Minister
NUR-SULTAN – The epidemiological situation in Kazakhstan is gradually stabilizing and the incidence rate declined 20 percent in the past two weeks, Kazakh Minister of Healthcare Alexey Tsoy told the government meeting on Tuesday. “Currently, there is a positive trend in the reduction in the incidence of disease and the gradual stabilization of the epidemiological…
Kazakhstan Commits Greater Effort to Preserving Saiga Antelope Population
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is set to take more measures to preserve the saiga antelope population, said Kazakh Minister of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources Magzum Mirzagaliyev during his visit to the West Kazakhstan Region. Mirzagaliyev visited the West Kazakhstan Region, where he met with scientists, ecologists, and the local community who put forward their proposals…
Kazakhstan, Spain Keen to Pursue Greater Cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – Spain is keen to boost bilateral cooperation with Kazakhstan, said Spanish State Secretary (i.e. Deputy Minister) for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean Cristina Gallach during her visit to Kazakhstan. The Astana Times sat down to talk with Cristina Gallach about the outcomes of her visit and what lies ahead for…
Close to 1.8 Million People Immunized Against COVID-19 in Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – As of May 14, 1,790,356 people in Kazakhstan have received at least one dose of the vaccine against COVID-19, according to the data updated daily by the Kazakh Ministry of Healthcare. 722,504 of them have been fully vaccinated against the virus. Almaty city, Almaty Region and the Turkistan Region are leading in terms…
Kazakhstan Allows More International Travel, Launches Flights to Montenegro
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has allowed more international air travel as it launches and increases flights to Montenegro, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and the Netherlands, announced the country’s Civil Aviation Committee. From May 15, flights will be launched on the Almaty – Podgorica – Almaty route with a frequency of five flights a week…
Kazakhstan Sees Positive Economic Growth For First Time Since Pandemic Outbreak
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan saw its gross domestic product growing 0.7 percent from January until April – positive for the first time since March 2020, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Aset Irgaliyev at a May 11 government meeting. The growth was driven by increased production in the real sector of the economy. “Growth in the…
Kazakhstan Celebrates Eid al-Fitr, End of Holy Month of Ramadan
NUR-SULTAN – As the Holy Month of Ramadan came to an end, Muslims around the world, and in Kazakhstan, celebrated Eid al-Fitr, also known as Oraza Ait, on Thursday, May 13. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the Ramadan month, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of…
Kazakhstan Ranks 67th in 2020 Social Progress Index, Ahead of Its Neighbors
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan ranked 67th in the 2020 Social Progress Index that evaluated 163 countries on the non-economic dimensions of their social performance. Kazakhstan scored 72.66 points out of a possible 100 surpassing its neighboring countries – Russia (69th with 72.56 points), Kyrgyzstan (89th with 68.65 points), and Uzbekistan (102nd with 64.98 points). The index…
Turkish Airlines to Launch Flights to Turkistan in May
NUR-SULTAN – Turkish Airlines will launch flights along the Turkistan – Istanbul route on May 22, reports the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development. The launch of flights became possible based on the decision of the nation’s interdepartmental commission on the prevention of the spread of the coronavirus infection. The flights will be operated…
Kazakhstan is Firmly Committed to Constructive Cooperation with EU, Says Kazakh FM in Brussels
NUR-SULTAN – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi participated in the 18th EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council May 10 in Belgium that focused on next steps concerning the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The EPCA was signed in 2015 and entered into provisional application on May 1, 2016, and entered into force…
Skiers Mount Elbrus to Celebrate Victory Day
NUR-SULTAN – An international group of skiers mounted Elbrus to celebrate Victory Day marked on May 9 as part of the Red Fox Elbrus Race international extreme sports festival. The festival, which has been held since 2008, will take place through May 8 incorporating running, snow-shoeing and ski-mountaineering races. Victory Cup is held on the…
Kazakh Economy Resilient to 2020 Shocks, Says Fitch Ratings Agency
NUR-SULTAN – At the end of 2020, Kazakhstan demonstrated a robust economic performance that supported the nation’s economy in addressing the 2020 shocks – coronavirus pandemic and oil price plunge, says the latest Fitch Ratings presentation on Kazakhstan. “Despite the country having the second-highest commodity export dependence in the ‘BBB’ rating category, its fiscal and…
47,000 SME Projects to Receive Preferential Lending in 2021
NUR-SULTAN – In 2021, 47,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will receive preferential lending, said Kazakh Minister of National Economy Aset Irgaliyev at a May 4 government meeting. Irgaliyev spoke about the measures being passed to support SMEs amid the pandemic. “For the first quarter of this year, more than 16,000 SMEs received support as…
More International Airlines Reopen Flights to Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – Air Arabia and Lufthansa are among the latest airlines resuming their flights to Kazakhstan. Lufthansa resumed the flights on May 2 with a flight along the Frankfurt-Nur-Sultan-Almaty route. Frankfurt to Almaty flights will be operated on Mondays and Saturdays landing at Nur-Sultan’s international airport, and a non stop direct flight on Thursdays. Direct…
