Articles by Assel Satubaldina

NUR-SULTAN – More than two million people in Kazakhstan joined the Campaign of Good Deeds initiated by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and held under the auspices of the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence.  The initiative was voiced by President Tokayev in December 2020, as he closed the Year of the Volunteer in Kazakhstan noting the…

NUR-SULTAN – Masks, hand sanitisers, social distancing, quarantine – these words were not so widely used just a year ago, but since the coronavirus outbreak last year, nothing has been the same in the lives of millions of people. A year ago, on March 16, Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency, for the first time…

NUR-SULTAN – A Kazakh delegation headed by Prime Minister Askar Mamin made a working visit to Abu Dhabi reaffirming Kazakhstan’s interest in strengthening cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and witnessing the signing of agreements worth $2.2 billion, reports the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  During his visit, Mamin met with Vice President and…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s Imanbek Zeikenov won the Best Remixed Recording award at the 63rd Grammy Awards which aired March 14, the first winner in the history of Kazakhstan.  Imanbek Zeikenov, known as Imanbek, won the award for his remix of Saint Jhn’s 2016 song “Roses.” He competed with RAC, Morgan Page, Louie Vega and Haywyre…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law endorsing ten national priorities that will shape the country’s development in the coming years.  The ten priorities include fair social policy, an accessible and effective healthcare system, quality education, a just and effective state to protect the interests of citizens, a new model of government,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan and Kazakhstan’s largest city Almaty re-entered the high-risk red zone. Of 899 new cases registered in Kazakhstan over the past day, 237 are in Almaty and 112 in Nur-Sultan. As of March 12, the number of Covid-19 cases in the country rose to 221,669. 2,837 people died from coronavirus.    Currently,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of the National Economy Aset Irgaliyev reported on the country’s economic development over the past two months noting positive dynamics across the sectors, as the epidemiological situation shows signs of improvement, according to the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  The real sector, excluding mining, demonstrated a 6.3 percent growth, while investments…

NUR-SULTAN – The government commission assigned to supervise the recovery of economic growth has adopted a package of additional measures to support businesses that suffered from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, reported the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service. The meeting was chaired by Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin.  The measures are meant to stimulate…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has adopted a National Development Plan through 2025 that outlines the country’s long term priorities, reported the Kazakh National Economy Ministry press service. The document was developed by the Ministry and the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms at the instruction of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The plan, which supplements Kazakhstan’s Strategy…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan ranked fifth in terms of mobile data cost in the United Kingdom’s Internet Accessibility Index 2021 published by Broadband Choices service.  The price for 1 gigabyte of mobile data is estimated at $0.9 with mobile internet coverage reaching 100 percent of the country’s 18 million.  India, Israel, and Russia have the least…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Energy Nurlan Nogayev participated in the 14th meeting of OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC ministers that took place March 4. Following the meeting, Kazakhstan and Russia were allowed to increase oil production to 20,000 barrels per day and 130,000 barrels per day, respectively, in April.  While production…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a new law introducing changes and amendments to the country’s legislative documents on the Caspian Sea issue, reported the Akorda press service.  The document is meant to align the national legislation with the regulations of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea signed by leaders…

NUR-SULTAN – Germany’s Lufthansa announced it would resume its regular flights to Kazakhstan in May. The flights will be resumed from the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan and Almaty to Frankfurt. 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. Lufthansa, whose…

NUR-SULTAN – The Foreign Investors’ Council held a working meeting on March 3 with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the heads of oil and gas companies operating in Kazakhstan, reported the Akorda press service. The meeting sought ways to increase the investment attractiveness of the country’s oil and gas sector  The council’s meeting was attended by…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov visited the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) on March 3, reported the Akorda press service.   The AIFC is a major financial institution in the country and the region of Central Asia. Launched in 2018, it offers financial services, including financial technologies, Islamic finance, green…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government plans to attract four trillion tenge (US$9.57 billion) of investments in its agriculture sector, said Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin during a government meeting on March 2.  Addressing the meeting, Kazakh Minister of Agriculture Saparkhan Omarov said the ministry plans to implement 380 investment projects, including 250 import substitution projects.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov wrapped up the results of their meeting during a joint press briefing on March 2, the Akorda press service reported.  Japarov is on his first official visit to Kazakhstan as the president of Kyrgyzstan after he won nearly 80 percent of the votes in…

NUR-SULTAN – United States Acting Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Acting Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS John T. Godfrey commended Kazakhstan’s efforts to return its foreign terrorist fighters home, as he delivered a keynote address during the virtual Middle East Countering Terrorism conference hosted Feb. 25 by Washington-based Middle East Institute (MEI).…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated the country’s citizens on the Day of Gratitude celebrated March 1 in Kazakhstan, reported the Akorda press service.  The Day of Gratitude has been celebrated in Kazakhstan since 2016. Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed initiating the holiday in April 2015 during the celebration of the 20th anniversary…

NUR-SULTAN – Gylym Faces (Faces of Science), a new project launched by enthusiasts Anastasiya Gorbunova and Assel Mussabekova, seeks to showcase the diversity of Kazakh science. Gorbunova and Mussabekova shared their experience of running the project, and how they came up with this idea in a recent interview with The Astana Times.  Both Gorbunova and…

NUR-SULTAN – As the epidemiological situation stabilised in Kazakhstan, the country’s commission on the fight against coronavirus made a decision to ease the restrictions starting March 1, according to an official announcement by the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  The extent to which the restrictions will be loosened depends on the zone where a region…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s commission on the fight against coronavirus allowed for an increase in the number of international flights, reported the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee.  Starting Feb. 24, there will be more flights from Kazakhstan to Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.  Almaty-Tashkent-Almaty flights will be increased from four to eight per week and operated by Air…

NUR-SULTAN – No region in Kazakhstan is currently in the high risk red zone. Only the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan, as well as Akmola, Pavlodar, West Kazakhstan, and Kostanai regions are in the moderate risk yellow zone.  All other regions in the country are in the green zone.  “The country’s epidemiological situation has stabilised. Many…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government, the National Bank, and the Agency for Regulation and Development of Financial Markets signed an agreement on coordination of macroeconomic policy measures for the next three years, the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service reported.  “Improving living standards and the well-being of the population is the main priority of the country’s…

NUR-SULTAN – The Fitch credit rating agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ with a stable outlook.  The report noted the country’s strong fiscal and external balance sheets along with accumulated oil revenues. External and fiscal buffers showed good performance against coronavirus and oil price shocks.  “Large sovereign external buffers are…