Articles by Assel Satubaldina

NUR-SULTAN – Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi, OSCE Chair Ann Linde and OSCE Secretary-General Helge Schmid opened an international conference commemorating the historical significance and relevance of the OSCE Summit hosted by Nur-Sultan (then Astana) in 2010 and the Astana Declaration. The event was organized by and held…

NUR-SULTAN – Over the next five years, the Shymkent authorities are planning a pool of 123 investment projects worth 1.36 trillion tenge (US$3.3 billion) that are expected to create 11,500 jobs, reported the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service. Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin visited the cities of Shymkent and Turkestan Feb. 17 as part of…

NUR-SULTAN – Freedom of expression is a constitutional right of every citizen, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a virtual meeting with the country’s Prosecutor General office, reported the Akorda press service.  “Since last year, Kazakhstan has had a fundamentally new law on peaceful assemblies, which introduced a notification system to organise rallies instead of…

NUR-SULTAN – The Asian Development Bank has raised nearly 8.4 billion tenge (US$20.1 million) from the first gender bonds issued in Kazakhstan, reported the bank’s press service.  The funds will help finance ADB’s Promoting Gender Equality in Housing Finance project meant to expand lending operations of Kazakhstan’s Otbasy Bank and promote affordable mortgage loans to…

NUR-SULTAN – The reforms to modernise the judiciary system in Kazakhstan should mobilise quality specialists and ensure impartiality in court decisions, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at a meeting that focused on the modernization of the judiciary system.  These measures are designed to increase trust of people in the judiciary.  “The Supreme Court сhair has…

NUR-SULTAN – Twenty-three years ago in February, then Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a state program into existence to revive the historical centers of the Silk Road, preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Turkic-speaking states, and build tourism infrastructure around the places once passed by the Great Silk Road.  Twenty-three years on, the goal…

NUR-SULTAN – Tore Nærland, a leader of The Bike for Peace Movement, published a book on the organisation’s activities over the years and appealed to the nuclear countries to abolish nuclear weapons. The book “Peace, Disarmament and a Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World” has been released in February of this year and was supported by the Mayors for Peace…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan returned to the low risk green zone, said Kazakh Minister of Healthcare Alexey Tsoy at a press briefing in the Kazakh capital.  The ministry regularly updates the matrix concerning the epidemiological situation. As of Feb. 12, there have been 200,044 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,630 deaths. Kazakhstan also reported 48,522 cases of…

NUR-SULTAN – The budget of the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan has been optimised by 43 billion tenge ($102.8 million), said Nur-Sultan Mayor Altai Kulginov at a virtual meeting with citizens on Feb. 10.  The money that was saved will now be directed to financing the social sector, infrastructure development, healthcare and education.  “As instructed by the…

NUR-SULTAN – KEGOC, Kazakhstan’s electric grid operator, is negotiating the expansion of its automatic frequency and power control system to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, said KEGOC Chair Bakytzhan Kazhiyev at a Feb. 9 government meeting. The automatic frequency and power control system is meant to automatically maintain a balance between the production and consumption of electricity.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s Agency on the Fight against Corruption recently organized an expanded meeting discussing the country’s efforts to curb corruption. The meeting gathered government officials, experts and public activists.  The agency seeks to incorporate innovative approaches to addressing the issue.  “Eliminating corruption was one of the most important priorities in the electoral program of…

NUR-SULTAN – Cairo gathered businesses and government officials from Kazakhstan and Egypt Feb. 5-7 for the second Kazakh-Egyptian trade and investment forum, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reported. Nearly 300 people attended the event.  The Kazakh delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Almas Aidarov was represented by more than 60 companies from…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development President Odile Renaud-Basso discussed major infrastructure projects in road construction, renewable energy and hydro energy during their recent virtual meeting, reported the Akorda press service. Tokayev said the EBRD, which invested $925 million in Kazakhstan in 2020 to support the country’s…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has reached an important milestone on its 30th independence anniversary. It is a time for concrete steps forward, and all measures and events should be focused on the younger generation, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the first meeting of the commission that oversees preparations to celebrate the 30th year of independence,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin encouraged the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council meeting to strengthen the work of the Eurasian Economic Union as Kazakhstan assumed the role of the presidency in the union this year, the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service reported.  Speaking at a press conference following the meeting, Mamin said the commission adopted…

NUR-SULTAN – The number of coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan grew 1.4 fold since December, and the regions took stricter measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. Over the past day, Kazakhstan registered 1,186 new cases. As of Feb. 5, Kazakhstan reported 192,825 cases since the pandemic began and 2,540 people died from it.…

NUR-SULTAN – Global economies continue reeling from the coronavirus outbreak and since last year many have been forced to endure a continued economic slowdown. For Kazakhstan, it was not time to put economic targets on hold, but to push forward to implement them, especially in the field of investments. In 2020, the Kazakh Invest national…

NUR-SULTAN – At the recent expanded government meeting on Jan. 26, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev gave instructions to the government meeting. A week later, the government gathered to report on how they are going to implement the tasks set by the head of the state, reported the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service. Speaking first, Kazakh…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will increase flights to Russia and Turkey, due to the January 28 decision of the government commission on the prevention of the spread of coronavirus infection, reported the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee press service.  The number of flights to Russia will increase from one to three per week for both sides between…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan introduced legislative changes to support investors. Starting this year, investors can conclude an investment agreement with the government without parliamentary ratification, said the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in a statement. The amendments were made to Kazakhstan’s business and tax code.  The investment agreement encompasses large projects with a volume of investments of at…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakhstan kicked off its mass vaccination Feb. 1 with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, reported Kazakh Healthcare Ministry press service. “We use global experience in fighting the epidemic, and the vaccine is the only reliable tool to fight the pandemic. All expenses to vaccinate the citizens are incurred by the state,” wrote Kazakh President…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev chaired the third meeting of the Supreme Council for Reforms that focused on the implementation of the National Development Plan through 2025, a new state planning system, development of the public administration through 2030, among others projects, reported the Akorda press service. The meeting was attended by Kazakh Prime…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan reaffirmed its plans to transition to a Latin-based Kazakh alphabet, as the national commission that gathered Jan. 28 presented a new version of the Kazakh alphabet.  While the country plans to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its independence this year, the announcement comes as a step forward in its broader plan to…

NUR-SULTAN – Working hours for cafes, restaurants, and trade malls were restricted in Almaty, based on the Jan. 28 decree of Almaty’s chief sanitary doctor Zhandaberk Bekshin, among other restrictions. The new decree restricts the operating hours of trade malls from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and closes them for weekends.  Cafes and…

NUR-SULTAN – Plans for 2021 have been set for the Kazakh government, as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined priorities and gave instruction to the cabinet, the Akorda press service reported.  Business and investment Supporting an economy that suffered from the coronavirus pandemic is the first priority.  “Businesses were hit by the pandemic and quarantine restrictions…