Articles by Ayana Birbayeva

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s exports rose 27.1% year on year to $48.5 billion in the first half of 2026, helping the country’s current account move into a $2.4 billion surplus, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s Sept. 30 report. The current account recorded a $3.2 billion surplus in the second quarter alone, compared with a…

ASTANA – Air Astana plans to launch two new international routes from Kazakhstan in December, connecting Almaty with Malaysia’s Langkawi and Astana with Thailand’s Bangkok. Starting Dec. 25, 2026, the airline plans to operate seasonal direct flights between Almaty and Langkawi three times a week using Airbus A321neo aircraft, according to the Kazakh Ministry of…

ASTANA – Moody’s Ratings has affirmed Kazakhstan’s sovereign credit rating at Baa1 with a stable outlook, citing the country’s strong fiscal position, low government debt, high debt-servicing capacity and accumulated foreign-currency assets. According to the agency, these factors give Kazakhstan flexibility in economic policymaking and a substantial buffer against external economic shocks, the Ministry of…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed creating a Kazakhstan-Germany investment and financial platform to combine German and European capital with Kazakh co-financing, guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms, as he outlined several priority areas for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries. Tokayev made the proposal during his Sept. 29 meeting with leaders of leading German…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan and China should move from individual investment projects toward integrated production ecosystems, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Sept. 25 at the Kazakhstan-China Investment Forum in Almaty, outlining transport, industry, critical minerals, digitalization and agriculture as key areas for deeper cooperation. More than 600 delegates, including Chinese corporations, Kazakh businesses, government bodies and development…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s low-cost airline FlyArystan has launched regular flights on a new route connecting Almaty with Chongqing, expanding Kazakhstan’s air connectivity with China. The new service began on Sept. 23 and will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using Airbus A320neo aircraft, according to the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s search-and-rescue operation in the Caspian Sea has officially ended after the bodies of two service officers who had been missing following a military exercise were found on Sept. 25, bringing the death toll from the incident to 14. The bodies were found at around 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 25 during continuous search…

ALMATY – The relationship between Kazakhstan and the United States has reached a period of “unprecedented momentum,” U.S. Consul General Peter Kaufman said at a Sept. 17 press briefing in Almaty, as Kazakhstan prepares for President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s participation in the G20 Summit in Miami in December and the two sides deepen cooperation on critical…

ASTANA – The Astana AI Film Festival (AAIFF 2026) will take place from Oct. 1 to 3, bringing together AI-generated films from 125 countries and offering a combined prize and investment pool of $2.75 million, the organizers said at a briefing in Astana. More than 8,000 films were submitted to the international competition, highlighting the…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s tourism sector is entering a new stage of development as investment, visitor numbers and transport connectivity expand, with the industry increasingly positioned as a contributor to economic growth rather than simply a recreational sector. The sector’s total contribution to Kazakhstan’s economy reached 5 trillion tenge (US$9.26 billion) in 2025, while employment exceeded…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan plans to shorten the preparation of initial public offerings by up to five months and reduce the full cycle of bond issuance to as little as one to two months, but market participants say faster procedures alone may not attract more companies to the stock market. The deeper challenge, they note, is…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national team has won 18 medals at the sixth World Nomad Games currently underway in the Kyrgyz Republic, including six gold, one silver and 11 bronze medals, reported the Ministry of Tourism and Sports.  Kazakh athletes have reached the podium across several traditional sports, including horse-based competitions, traditional wrestling, strength disciplines and…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has signed a contract to design, supply and build its first nuclear power plant, moving the long-planned project into a new practical phase as the country seeks to strengthen energy security and prepare for growing electricity demand. The contract was signed between Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants and Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Russia’s…

ASTANA – The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a Kazakhstan-initiated resolution proclaiming April 22 as the International Day of Greening the Planet, marking another step in Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote global environmental cooperation. The resolution was adopted in New York on Aug. 31. The initiative was first proposed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the…

ASTANA – Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund reported financial results above its targets for the first seven months of 2026, while increasing procurement from domestic producers as the fund seeks to strengthen the role of local companies in its supply chains. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov chaired a meeting of the Samruk Kazyna Board of Directors…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is expanding its international air connectivity while investing in digital technologies designed to make border and aviation services faster, signaling a broader effort to strengthen the country’s position as a regional transport and travel hub. The latest measures range from a significant increase in permitted flights between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia to…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s transport sector maintained positive growth in January-July 2026, with the physical volume of transport and warehousing services increasing 7.4% year on year, down from 22.5% a year earlier. The slower pace of expansion, alongside diverging trends across transport modes, may signal a gradual shift in the structure of the country’s logistics system,…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree convening the first session of Kazakhstan’s elected Kurultai, the country’s new unicameral legislature, for Aug. 28 at 11 a.m., according to the Akorda press service. The session will mark the start of work for the 145-member Kurultai, established under Kazakhstan’s new Constitution, which took effect on…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national judo team secured its first-ever gold medal in the mixed team event at the World Judo Championships among cadets in Guayaquil, Ecuador, marking a historic achievement for the country’s judo programme. The team title capped a record-breaking individual campaign, with Kazakh judokas winning 11 medals – four gold, three silver and…

ASTANA – Voting in Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai concluded at all polling stations across the country at 8 p.m. on Aug. 23, with 9,352,151 voters, or 74.19% of those registered, having received ballots, according to preliminary voter turnout data from the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations have now closed nationwide, and precinct…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the new Vice President is expected to be appointed within the next week or 10 days, speaking to media representatives after casting his ballot in the country’s first elections to the Kurultai on Aug. 23. Responding to questions about the reforms and the changes expected after the Kurultai and…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan opened 10,363 polling stations across the country on Aug. 23 for Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations began operating at 7 a.m. Astana time, while 107 of them opened earlier at 6 a.m. based on decisions by territorial election commissions. In total, 12,605,788…

ALMATY – The final Aug. 19 televised debate before Kazakhstan’s Aug. 23 Kurultai elections showed that the country’s seven political parties are entering the vote with competing policy priorities. Still, voters largely share an understanding of the main concerns, shifting the campaign debate from identifying problems to competing over who offers the most convincing solutions.…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s economy continued to expand in the first seven months of 2026, with investment and manufacturing providing an important source of growth even as mining output declined and exports remained heavily dependent on raw materials. New data from the Bureau of National Statistics points to a mixed but potentially significant economic pattern. Industrial…

ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s oil sector experienced a period of lower production in the first seven months of 2026, with production falling 8.9% to 53.2 million tons amid disruptions at the Tengiz field and the country’s main export route through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Yet the decline in production has not translated into a comparable…