Articles by Assel Satubaldina

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi Sept. 12, who was on an official visit to the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan, and reaffirmed the countries’ commitment to strengthening bilateral ties, reported Akorda press service.  The sides discussed prospects to expand bilateral and multilateral cooperation and coordination of efforts…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh officials are optimistic about the COVID-19 situation in the country. 94 percent of the COVID-19 patients in Kazakhstan have recovered, said Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy at a government meeting, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  As of Sept. 10, Kazakhstan had 106,584 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 100,248 recovered, and 1,634 deaths.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan resumed flights to Uzbekistan today, Sept. 11, and will resume flights to Kyrgyzstan starting from Sept. 20.  The flights on the Almaty to Tashkent route will be operated by Uzbekistan Airways on Fridays and by Kazakhstan’s Air Astana on Thursdays.  The flights on Almaty to Bishkek route will be operated by Air…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is mulling the tightening of penalties for environmental damage caused by citizens and companies, said Kazakh Minister of Ecology, Geology, and Natural Resources Magzum Mirzagaliyev, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  The fines will be doubled from 27,780 tenge (US$65) to 55,560 tenge (US$130), according to the draft environmental code. The fines…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has restored the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed the decree on Sept. 9, the Akorda press service reported. The Ministry of Emergency Situations was abolished in 2014. Tokayev announced the decision to bring back the ministry during his Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation address noting that the nation was…

NUR-SULTAN –  The S&P Global Ratings international rating agency recently confirmed the long-term and short-term sovereign credit ratings of Kazakhstan at the level of BBB-/A-3 with a stable outlook, said Kazakh Deputy Minister of National Economy Zhaslan Madiyev.  The sustainable fiscal position of the country supports Kazakhstan’s rating, said the agency, including the nation’s assets…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan fulfilled its obligations in August under the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreement achieving 100 percent conformity, reported the Kazakh Energy Ministry press service.  In August, Kazakhstan’s average daily oil production stood at 1.345 million barrels. Kazakhstan fulfilled compensation deadlines set by the OPEC after the nation oversupplied in May and committed…

NUR-SULTAN – The U.S. Commerce Chamber announced the creation of the U.S. – Kazakh Business Council to expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation, reported the commerce’s press service. The new council, which will seek to deepen business contacts between the two countries and help American companies expand their presence in Kazakhstan, will be chaired by…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of National Economy Ruslan Dalenov summarized his ministry’s plan to fulfill the tasks set out by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his state-of-the-nation address, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service.  The ministry will focus its efforts on five areas – development of entrepreneurship, enhancement of tax and budget policy, attracting investments,…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh government will subsidize businesses affected by the pandemic as part of a broader and continued effort to support its economy, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.  The subsidies will be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises with interest rates of up to six percent per annum for 12 months starting March 16,…

NUR-SULTAN – The ANSA Silicon company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will invest $100 million in a silicon plant in the Ekibastuz town in the Pavlodar Region. The project will be implemented with the support of the Kazakh Invest national company and is currently at the design and budget documentation stage – a…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is planning significant reforms in its civil service after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that the nation will cut the civil service by 10 percent this year and by 15 percent next year, reported Akorda press service. The announcement came during Tokayev’s state-of-the-nation address delivered Sept. 1 at the joint session of…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar explored ways to strengthen Kazakh and German cooperation in subsoil use and geology during a video conference with the heads and representatives of more than 100 leading German companies, including Volkswagen, Siemens, Linde, Schaeffler, Knauf, Lufthansa, SMS group, and DMT, reported Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service. The…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev outlined seven areas for the nation’s economic recovery in his state-of-the-nation address Sept. 1 at the joint session of the Kazakh Parliament, reported Akorda press service.  “The new economic course of our country should be based on seven major principles – the fair distribution of wealth and duties, the…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakhstan’s First President and Chair of the country’s ruling Nur Otan party Nursultan Nazarbayev noted the growing interest in the party’s upcoming primaries in October during an Aug. 28 meeting of Nur Otan’s political council bureau, reported Nur Otan press service.  The registration for primaries began Aug. 17 and lasted through Aug. 28.…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh military medical team returned to Kazakhstan after spending more than two weeks in Lebanon providing medical care to patients who suffered in the Aug. 4 blast in Beirut, reported Kazakh Defense Ministry press service. The doctors received 635 patients, including 73 who required surgeries.  The doctors departed to Beirut on Aug.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has taken further steps to ease the current COVID-19 restrictions in the country. Starting from Aug. 31, the nation will reopen religious, sports, and cultural facilities, among other objects based on a recent decision by the government commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yeraly Tugzhanov. Quarantine restrictions that were in place from…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has striking tourism potential and one of the recent areas in the development of the field is in eco-tourism which may attract up to 70 billion tenge (US$166.6 million) of private investment and create 4,000 jobs, said Kazakh Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources Magzum Mirzagaliyev during the meeting with Kazakh…

NUR-SULTAN  – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the Otyrar regional tourism center in the Turkestan Region as part of an effort to attract more tourists to explore the region’s rich cultural heritage, reported Akorda press service. The Otyrar center is spread out over 2,092 square meters and began employing 54 people when it opened its…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the Myrzakent district in the Turkestan Region that suffered from floods in May during his visit to the region, reported Akorda press service.  Tokayev toured a new residential area that would welcome people who lost their homes due to the floods after Uzbekistan’s Sardoba reservoir dam partially collapsed…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited the town of Arys in the Turkestan Region on Aug. 20 and checked in on the places that have gone through reconstruction after an explosion at an ammunition depot last year in June, reported Akorda press service.  The explosion occurred June 24, 2019, on a military base just…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh military doctors are currently in Lebanon providing medical care to people who suffered from a devastating blast in Beirut, reported Kazakh Defense Ministry press service.  The tragedy occurred Aug. 4 and was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at a warehouse in the port. More than…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed the importance of tightening measures to fight corruption in the country during a meeting that explored the government’s efforts to curb corruption, reported Akorda press service.  Tokayev noted that the fight against corruption is one of the top priorities in the nation’s strategic development. Lack of actions, however,…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Healthcare Minister Alexey Tsoy and Kazakh Foreign Ministry briefed the diplomatic missions in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan on the latest government efforts to fight the coronavirus infection, reported Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service. The online meeting was attended by First Deputy Foreign Minister Shahrat Nuryshev.  The Kazakh officials talked about…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s ruling party Nur Otan has kicked off registration to the party’s first primaries scheduled for Oct. 1-3, reported Nur Otan press service. The registration will last through Aug. 28. 3,209 people have registered over the two days of the registration. Of them, 1,138 are women and 788 young people under 35 years…