Articles by Dana Omirgazy

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has begun implementing eight investment projects worth 30 billion tenge (US$61.5 million), as part of its asset recovery efforts. According to the Asset Recovery Committee of the Kazakh Prosecutor General’s Office, the construction of two trade and logistics centers worth more than 7 billion tenge (US$14.4 million) has commenced. These projects are…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discussed the rise of middle powers and noted the role of the United Nations as the driving force of global cooperation and progress during the plenary session of the Astana Think Tank Forum on Oct. 17. Welcoming the participants, Tokayev noted that this dialogue platform, created under the auspices…

ASTANA – More than 250 books by Kazakhstan’s writers on display at the Frankfurter Buchmesse-2024 (the Frankfurt International Book Fair), which takes place on Oct. 16-20 in Germany. According to Kazinform, over 30 representatives from Kazakhstan, including public figures, publishers and translators, and large publishing houses such as Mektep, Almatykitap, Atamura, ARMAN PV, Steppe &…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry has officially endorsed the concept for the development of hydrogen energy in Kazakhstan until 2030 on Sept. 27. This document will become a key guideline for the development of the hydrogen energy sector in the country and will make a significant contribution to solving environmental challenges. The concept includes such…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is Armenia’s friendly, important and reliable partner, said President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, in an interview with Kazinform, focusing on the development of bilateral relations with Kazakhstan and promising opportunities for cooperation. Khachaturyan, who paid an official visit to Kazakhstan on Oct. 15-16, met with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, toured the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to introduce amendments to law on financial market development and consumer protection in financial services to attract foreign financial institutions and increase competition in the banking sector, said Madina Abylkassymova, chairperson of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market during an Oct. 16 plenary session in the Mazhilis,…

ASTANA – Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov outlined key areas for strengthening cooperation between the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states during an Oct. 16 SCO Heads of Government Council meeting in Islamabad. According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the meeting participants discussed the implementation of the agreements reached at the SCO summit in…

ASTANA – The CONNECTED-2024, an international conference about rethinking the image of the future through the prism of the worldview of cultures and philosophies, technologies and innovations, will bring together nearly 1,500 delegates from more than 20 countries in the Kazakh capital on Oct. 18-19 Participants will discuss such topics as generating intellectual capital for…

ASTANA – Telegram, a cloud-based, cross-platform, social media and instant messaging service, is set to open an office in Kazakhstan, said Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev on Oct. 14, following a meeting with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and representatives of Meta and Apple. “We cooperate with Telegram to…

ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan discussed prospects for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian spheres during an Oct. 15 meeting. Welcoming Khachaturyan, Tokayev noted that Kazakhstan is interested in advancing the Kazakh-Armenian cooperation to a qualitatively new level, as reported by Akorda. …

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu paid an official visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on Oct. 14 to attend the 21st meeting of the European Union-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council and enhance cooperation with EU companies. During the Cooperation Council, participants discussed the current state of relations between Kazakhstan and…

ASTANA – Central Asian states and South Korea held the second parliamentary meeting to promote cooperation and mutual trust on Oct. 14 in Ashgabat. During the Partnership for Peace, Prosperity and Mutual Trust plenary session, Chairman of Mazhilis, the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament Yerlan Koshanov emphasized the relevance of the proposed topic against…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to harvest a record-breaking 1.2 million tons of sugar beet this year, said Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov during an Oct. 14 meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The sides discussed the agricultural sector’s development results over the January-September period, reported Akorda.   According to Saparov, 98% of the area has been harvested, and…

ASTANA – The Kazakh film “Bauryna Salu” (Adoption) by Askhat Kuchincherekov secured high award at the Baku International Film Festival 2024, which took place on Oct. 4-8. According to the Kazakh Culture and Information Ministry, head of the jury, laureate of the Golden Globe award Siddik Bayram highly assessed the Kazakh movie. He described “Bauryna…

ASTANA – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the international forum, Interconnection of Times and Civilizations – the Basis of Peace and Development, on Oct. 11 in Ashgabat  to mark the 300th birth anniversary of Turkmen poet Magtymguly Pyragy. In his speech, Tokayev highlighted Magtymguly’s role as the founder of Turkmen classical literature and a…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s SCAT Airlines plans to launch direct flights between Kazakhstan and Austria in the spring next year. The flights will be operated twice a week. This was announced during the ninth meeting of the Kazakhstan-Austria Business Council, reported the Kazakh Transport Ministry’s press service on Oct. 11. The meeting was attended by Kazakh…

ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest covers Kazakh-Turkmen cooperation, nuclear power plant referendum, European investments in Kazakhstan and more. Kazakhstan backs nuclear plant in referendum Bloomberg published an article on Oct. 7 reporting on the results of the nuclear power plant referendum,…

ASTANA – Qatar will invest $20 billion to implement nine projects in Kazakhstan, according to the agreement on long-term strategic partnership, approved by the Senate, the upper house of the Kazakh Parliament, on Oct. 10. The document provides for the implementation of investment projects in Kazakhstan in telecommunications, energy, transport, petrochemicals, agriculture and finance. The…

ASTANA – The Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Kazakhstan has decided to keep the base rate at 14.25% per annum with a corridor of +/- 1 percentage point, the bank’s press service reported on Oct. 11. Despite a decline to 8.3% in September, annual inflation still significantly exceeds the target. The inflation…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan will build the trans-Afghan corridor, according to the documents signed during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Turkmenistan on Oct. 10. The route will run through the territory of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, then to Afghanistan with access to Pakistan, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, said Kazakh Transport Minister Marat Karabayev,…

ASTANA – For the first time in five years, Kazakhstan has nearly fulfilled its water delivery target to the Aral Sea during the irrigation season, supplying 977 million cubic meters of water. In recent years, only 350-400 million cubic meters of water entered the sea. Since the beginning of the year, the volume has exceeded…

ASTANA — Yerlan Koshanov, Chairman of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Kazakhstan’s Parliament, made an official visit to Hungary on Oct. 6, where he met with the country’s leadership in a significant step toward deepening bilateral relations, according to the Mazhilis press service. In Budapest, Koshanov held discussions with the President of Hungary, Tamás…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Baiterek National Holding and Qatar’s Lesha Bank announced on Oct. 8 the completion of the transaction, transferring full ownership of Bereke Bank with the sale of 100% of its shares. “Bereke Bank is one of Kazakhstan’s largest banks and will continue to fulfill all its obligations to clients. The bank maintains the…

ASTANA – Kazakh and foreign airlines operate 778 weekly flights to 132 destinations in 32 countries, reported the Transport Ministry’s press service on Oct. 8. Kazakhstan has direct flights to 32 countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bahrain, China, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Qatar, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam. This year, new air routes were opened from Almaty…

ASTANA—Kazakhstan’s ed-tech startup CodiPlay has become the first project in Central Asia to receive the Finnish Quality Certificate from Education Alliance Finland, a certifier of ed-tech solutions. This certificate will enable the project to become internationally competitive. Education Alliance Finland provides a product evaluation and certification service based on global quality standards for learning solutions.…