Articles by Michelle Witte

ASTANA – Over two days of presentations and dialogue, participants at the Central and South Asian Regional Conference on Countering Violent Extremism called for more tools to support collaborative work to block terrorist recruitment efforts and discussed global law enforcement and other practices to identify and respond to potential threats. The need for cooperation between…

ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a $49.2 million loan in local currency to Kazakh food and beverage producer RG Brands, the bank announced on June 30. RG Brands is a producer and distributor of tea, juice and milk drinks, with five production sites, two logistics centres and 12…

ASTANA – The European Union’s revised Strategy for Central Asia provides increased engagement with the region through more flexible cooperation formats and a budget for bilateral and regional cooperation formats of more than 1 billion euros, an increase of 56 percent, EU Special Representative for Central Asia Peter Burian said at a press conference in…

ASTANA – A global assessment of what constitutes a terrorist group, sanctions against states that support them, a global database of extremist content online and a mechanism for removing it as well as a regional awareness network to promote research and training on countering extremism were among the topics presented during the first day of…

ASTANA – An innovative Kazakh startup with a product that prevents electricity from being wasted was ranked among the top ten at this year’s Echelon Asia Summit in Singapore on June 23-24. “We were confident that we would be in the top 10,” founder of the winning project, EcoSocket, Sanzhar Myrzagalym said at the event,…

ASTANA – Two of southern Thailand’s biggest tourism centres, Phuket Province and Koh Samui of Surat Thani province, joined the “Amazing Road Show to Kazakhstan 2015” campaign to open new tourist markets and establish direct flights to the regions, the National News Bureau of Thailand reported. Tens of thousands of Kazakhs travel to Phuket each…

ASTANA – Despite the geography that separates them, Kazakhstan and Malaysia are natural partners, with much in common – like relatives separated by a continent, Malaysian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Dato’ Hidayat Abdul Hamid says. “Malaysia and Kazakhstan are similar in many senses,” he said in an interview on June 23. “While we embrace modernity, many…

ASTANA – Soul music is not the first thing that comes to mind when surveying Kazakhstan’s sound scene, but singer Mekiel Barnett has hopes that the country’s music fans will be as welcoming to him as the rest of its people have been. You’d be forgiven for finding Barnett’s arrival on the steppe unexpected, to…

ASTANA – The seventh International Forum of Talent, Models and Designers of Fashion House International Kazakhstan (FHI) was held in Almaty’s Metro Club on June 18–20 and brought together 100 participants from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and the United States, an FHI press release reported on June 22. The forum was divided into a Day…

ASTANA – India and Kazakhstan are looking at a variety of mining, mineral and oil and gas projects, paving the way for bilateral agreements to be signed during Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s visit to the country early in July. An inter-ministerial working group has been established among the Coal, Steel and Mines Ministries…

ASTANA – Belarussian-born, Sweden-based artist L. Christeseva has brought the bright, textured paintings and installations of her “Sustainidentity” exhibit to the Kulanshi Gallery in Astana’s Palace of Peace and Harmony, with the help of the Swedish embassy in the Kazakh capital. The exhibit was arranged in connection with Sweden’s national day on June 6. “Based…

ASTANA – On June 18, experts from three continents discussed some of the thornier geopolitical issues in Central Asia today, including foreign policy failures, the political and economic impact of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the lack of trust between states of the region and the urgent need for reform. The discussions took place at…

ASTANA – In the spring, when the weather warms and residents of the steppe start to dream about summer holidays by some distant seaside, another group of travellers is making a journey in the opposite direction. Only about 120 kilometres west from Astana, hundreds of birds, many from tropical beaches, come to rest, mate and…

ASTANA – In the last five years, reported incidents of sexual violence against minors in Kazakhstan have doubled, Attorney General of Kazakhstan Askhat Daulbayev said at a recent meeting of Coordination Council on Law Enforcement under the Prosecutor General’s Office of Kazakhstan, where he also called for stronger investigative procedures and more thorough assessments of…

ASTANA – A Nazarbayev University student has won an essay contest for Kazakh students sponsored by a collective of European embassies meant to raise awareness and encourage collective work to combat climate change. The essay contest was part of a joint Climate Diplomacy Day initiative sponsored by the EU delegation to Kazakhstan and the embassies…

ASTANA – With British soprano Sarah Brightman having dropped out of the spaceflight to the International Space Station (ISS), Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov has a chance at the vacant seat, Spaceflight Insider reported at the end of May. Kazcosmos, Kazakhstan’s space exploration agency, is “now urgently preparing its scientific research programme,” Deputy Chairman of Kascosmos…

ASTANA – The Board of Governors of theVienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) approved a host-state agreement on June 12 between the agency and the government of Kazakhstan on hosting an international low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel bank in the country, an offer Kazakhstan first made in 2010, according to an IAEA announcement on June 12.…

ASTANA – The fifth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana completed its work on June 11 with the adoption of a final declaration based on peace initiatives proposed by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in his opening address to the congress. The final declaration includes calls for “political leaders of world…

ASTANA – The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) held its 12th summit in Almaty on May 18, the first time the summit was held in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Kazakh TV reported in late May. As Kazakhstan aims to become a regional financial centre, the country hopes to position Almaty as the Islamic…

ASTANA – A Representative Office of the Nobel Academy, a Swiss-based group of educational and research institutions offering online tuition accredited around the world, has opened in Astana, the Astana Akimat (city administration) has announced. “We are opening the academy in Astana due to the historical cooperation between your country and the Nobel family,” said…

ASTANA – The fifth Congress of World and Traditional Religions launched June 10 in Astana with a focus on working together to prevent violence, and with Kazakhstan offered as a model of religious and cultural harmony. “A distinctive feature of this forum is to discuss the relationship of religions and cultures in the interests of…

ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed four more deals to cooperate on projects in public services and transport on June 3, during EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti’s trip to the Kazakh capital. These are all projects that involve reform, Chakrabarti commented, and really symbolise the nature of EBRD and Kazakhstan’s…

ASTANA – The 28th session of the Foreign Investors Council of Kazakhstan, focusing on the development of the country’s agricultural sector, was held on June 4-5 in the Kazakh capital and chaired by President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, who called on foreign investors to involve themselves in Kazakh agribusiness and said that despite economic challenges,…

ASTANA – Blogger Adlet Kumar has opened an island in the middle of landlocked Astana – a place he hopes will be an oasis for travellers, a meeting point for people from different walks of life and an island of free expression in an otherwise buttoned-up capital city. Freedom Island, as his new venue is…

ASTANA – To counter what some believe to be an underrepresentation of Kazakh art internationally, the International Art Development Association (IADA) created an “Invisible Pavilion” entitled “Protagonists” on the sidelines of the May 1-10 Venice Biennale, where Kazakh and Central Asian artists were able to exhibit their work and their culture. “Since the independence of…