Chinese President Xi Jinping’s First International Visit Since Start of COVID-19 Pandemic to Take Place on September 14, Kazakhstan Confirms
NUR-SULTAN – President Xi Jinping will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan on Sept. 14, 2022, at the invitation of his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in what would be the Chinese leader’s first foreign trip since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020, reported the Kazakh President’s office. “The two leaders will discuss…
Kazakhstan Becomes Observing Member of International Committee of Military Medicine
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has become an observing member of the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM), reported Sept. 9 Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service. Established in 1921, the ICMM consists of more than 100 states. Its mission is to enhance the exchange of future orientations, scientific knowledge and past experiences among military medical services and…
Kazakh National Museum to Host ART-EXPO International Exhibition of CIS Member States
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Museum presented the ART-EXPO international exhibition of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states on Sept. 8 in Nur-Sultan, reported the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports. The exhibition, titled “The Folk Art in the ART Space,” features exhibitions and events, as well as the…
Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders to Address Social Status of Women
NUR-SULTAN- The seventh Congress of World and Traditional Religious Leaders, scheduled for Sept. 14 – 15, will hold a special session devoted to the social status of women for the first time in the congress’s 20-year history, reported the congress’s press service on Sept. 8. The session will focus on women’s contributions to the sustainable…
Kazakh Foreign Minister Tileuberdi Visits Saudi Arabia to Enhance Economic Cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is keen to cooperate with Saudi Arabia’s investors in the petrochemical industry, in mining and in agriculture, said Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi during his Sept. 7 visit to Saudi Arabia, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service. During a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Investment Minister Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih and…
UN General Assembly Commends Kazakhstan’s Efforts Towards Nuclear Disarmament
NUR-SULTAN – The United Nations (UN), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) praised Kazakhstan’s efforts to reach nuclear disarmament at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported on Sept. 7. The meeting was dedicated to the International Day Against…
President Tokayev Sends Condolences to King Charles III over Death of Queen Elizabeth II
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has sent a telegram of condolences to King Charles III of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, reported the Akorda press service on Sept. 9. President Tokayev offered the sincerest condolences, words of support, and sympathy to King Charles III, the…
KazMunayGas Chairman Discusses Measures to Stabilize Kazakhstan’s Fuel and Lubricants Market During Meeting With President
NUR-SULTAN – Chairman of the KazMunayGas (KMG) national oil and gas company Magzum Mirzagaliyev informed Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev about the measures undertaken to stabilize the fuel and lubricants market in Kazakhstan on Sept. 8, reported the Akorda’s press service. According to Mirzagaliyev, Kazakhstan will process a record volume of petroleum products – 17 million…
Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions is Important Kazakh Initiative for Promoting Peace and Interfaith Dialogue, Says Head of Royal Jordan Institute
In the run-up to the seventh Congress of Leaders of the World and Traditional Religions in Nur-Sultan, The Astana Times spoke with Renee Hattar, the Director of The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies about the religious affairs and Kazakhstan’s initiatives in this sphere. Following is a Q&A with Dr Renee Hattar. What do you think…
Kazakhstan to Introduce Valuable Skills Visa As Part of New Migration Policy Concept
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will introduce new visa categories – visas for valuable skills, scientific and educational visas – as part of the new migration policy concept developed by the Kazakh Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, the ministry’s press service reported on Sept. 7. The measures follow up on the initiative of…
Trans-Caspian International Transport Route Sees Triple Increase in Shipment Volume in 2022
NUR-SULTAN – The volume of shipments along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route has tripled in the first seven months of 2022, said KTZ Express Deputy General Director for Logistics Aibek Kapar during a meeting focusing on the international transport route, Kazinform reported on Sept. 7. “Shipment volume had tripled over the first seven months of…
Nur-Sultan’s Population Doubles Since 2009 Census, Reaches 1.3 Million in August
NUR-SULTAN – The population of the Kazakh capital has more than doubled since the 2009 census (619,000), reaching 1.3 million people as of Aug. 1, reported the Bureau of National Statistics on Sept. 6. According to the preliminary data from the previous census held in September 2021, the capital’s population was 1.23 million people. The…
Kazakhstan and Qatar to Increase Passenger Flights Next Year
NUR-SULTAN – The Qatar Airways air carrier plans to launch new flights between the cities of Nur-Sultan and Doha in the spring-summer period next year, reported the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development. Now there operate regular passenger flights on the Doha – Almaty route four times per week. Civil…
Kazakhstan Sets Guinness World Record for Most Multinational Orchestra
NUR-SULTAN – Guinness World Records Adjudicator Jack Brockbank registered a new world record for the most multinational orchestra in Kazakhstan on Sept. 6 on the stage of the Kazakh Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, reported the press service of the Kazakh Senate. The Music of the World project, organized by Daut Shaikhislamov on the eve…
ArcelorMittal to Invest $1 Billion in Kazakhstan, Says Executive Chair During Meeting with President Tokayev
NUR-SULTAN – ArcelorMittal Executive Chair Lakshmi Niwas Mittal said the company will invest $1 billion in Kazakhstan to modernize production during his meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Sept. 6, reported the Akorda press service. ArcelorMittal Temirtau, part of ArcelorMittal Group, is Kazakhstan’s largest mining and metallurgical enterprise. It includes a steel plant in…
Kazakh Government Approves National Action Plan to Implement Tokayev’s State of Nation Address
NUR-SULTAN – The draft National Action Plan to implement President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation address was approved during the Sept. 6 government meeting, reported the Prime Minister’s Office. The plan, which was titled “Fair State. One Nation. Prosperous Society,” envisions 109 measures of a new economic policy, the real sector’s development, strategic investments, a…
President Tokayev Discusses Economic and Investment Cooperation with German Partners
NUR-SULTAN – Germany is Kazakhstan’s most important European Union partner, with more than 600 companies with German capital successfully operating in the country, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during a Sept. 6 meeting with a delegation from Germany. “There is great potential for bilateral trade and investment growth,” the President noted. The Kazakh government has developed…
Kazakhstan Receives Oil Production Quota for October After OPEC+ Meeting
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will produce 1,706 million barrels per day as part of the virtual meeting decision of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), reported the Kazakh Energy Ministry’s press service on Sept. 5. The OPEC+ member countries will reduce oil production by 100,000 barrels per day in October, returning to agreed-upon volumes in…
Six Kazakh Films Enter Kazan Muslim Film Festival
NUR-SULTAN – Six Kazakh films entered the program of the 18th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival held in the capital of Tatarstan on Sept. 7 – 11, reported the festival’s press service. The first film – Mikhail Plisko’s film “Rukh” (Spirit) – will be screened on Sept. 8. Plisko said that he and the film’s…
Food Security in Kazakhstan Will Not Be Affected By Forest Fire in Kostanai Region
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture announced that the forest fires in the Kostanai Region will not affect the country’s food security, the projected yield, and the export agreements with foreign states, reported the ministry’s press service. The natural disaster has affected less than 0.1 percent of the total area of crops in the…
Afghanistan Receives Humanitarian Aid From Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has delivered nine cargo wagons of food, medicines, and clothes to Afghanistan through the Termez Regional Humanitarian Logistics Hub, according to the United Nations press service on Aug. 31. “The donation is intended to support the United Nations humanitarian response to Afghan families struck by the devastating earthquake in June, the current…
Kazakhstan’s Population Reaches 19.6 Million
NUR-SULTAN – The population of Kazakhstan has reached 19,644,067 people as of Aug. 1, reported the Bureau of National Statistics on Sept. 1. Migration inflows, primarily from Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine, as well as high levels of natural population growth, are the leading causes of population growth. According to the 2021 population census,…
Kazakh Coal Exports Grow by 21 Percent in First Seven Months of This Year
NUR-SULTAN – The volume of the country’s coal, lignite, and coal production has reached 66.4 million tons in seven months, a 5.8 percent increase over the same period in 2021, Energyprom analytical website reported on Sept. 2. Some 92.6 percent or 61.5 million tons of production in the sector is hard coal. Mining of thermal…
US Congress Members Commend Tokayev’s Efforts to Implement Major Reforms in Kazakhstan
NUR-SULTAN – United States Congress members James Panetta and Thomas Suozzi praised President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s efforts to implement substantial political and economic reforms in Kazakhstan during their Sept. 2 meeting with Tokayev in Nur-Sultan, reported the Akorda press service. The sides discussed prospects for the Kazakh-U.S. relations, focusing on strengthening inter-parliamentary relationships as part of…
President’s Amnesty Decision is Act of Humanity and Trust in Fellow Citizens, Says Human Rights Commissioner
NUR-SULTAN – The President’s amnesty decision is not simply a realization of his constitutional right but an act of humanity and faith in fellow citizens, Kazakhstan’s Commissioner for Human Rights Elvira Azimova wrote in a Facebook post on Sept. 1. In his address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the decision to grant a one-time amnesty for…
