Articles by Zhazira Dyussembekova

ASTANA – Investments play a vital role in the development of any country. Much has been done to attract investors to Kazakhstan, but plenty of tasks are ahead. In an interview with The Astana Times, the capital’s Department for Investments and Development head Alisher Abdykadyrov talked about the results and future goals in that direction.…

ASTANA – “Between ISIL and Al-Qaeda: Central Asian militants in the Syrian war,” written by Kazakh political scientist Yerlan Karin, was presented May 30 in Almaty, reported Tengrinews.kz. The co-author of the book is American expert Jacob Zenn. “I have been studying the topic of terrorism since the 1990s. After the events of 2011 in…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the nation’s accession to the international organisation, met at the end of May at the country’s national museum. “Kazakhstan is happy to celebrate such a great…

ASTANA – Astana International Rotary Club (AIRC) held its official charter ceremony on May 26. The newly-formed club aims to serve humanity and local society by focusing on different issues, including education and health. On that day, around two dozen new Rotarians made solemn vows to follow the organisation’s motto – Service Above Self. “Taking…

ASTANA – These days, Astana is probably the busiest and most sleepless city in Central Asia. In an exclusive interview with The Astana Times, Akim (Mayor) of Astana Asset Issekeshev talks about the most relevant issues for the capital, the development of the transport system, the attraction of investments and, of course, the city’s preparedness…

ASTANA – Less than two weeks are left until EXPO 2017 finally opens. The rich programme will satisfy different tastes, with world-class stars performing for capital residents and guests throughout the summer. Tickets for EXPO and cultural programme events are being sold or will be sold soon at tickets.expo2017astana.com or official ticket offices. A one-day…

ASTANA – This year’s Europe Day celebrations in Astana started May 20 with PechaKucha Night, followed by an “EU Hour” in 16 schools in Astana on May 23. The third event on the agenda, “Ambassadors’ Café,” took place May 25. On that day, ambassadors of the member states of the European Union met with the…

ASTANA – Radost, (“Joy”), a charity shop in Karaganda, is one of the brightest examples of social entrepreneurship in the country. Its founder, Meruyert Argimbayeva, started her business more than three years ago. She still puts all her efforts towards developing direction in her region and is referred to as the heart, soul and brain…

ASTANA – Astana Opera and Russia’s famous national Bolshoi Theatre signed a memorandum of cooperation May 15 in Moscow, according to the opera’s press service. “One of the tasks of spiritual modernisation, which was set by the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, is the promotion of modern Kazakh culture in the world. As the head…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s lower house of Parliament (Mazhilis) recently ratified an intergovernmental agreement with Russia to cooperate in aviation searches and rescues, according to Sputnik Kazakhstan.   “Today, through the Mazhilis we passed a bill that provides a joint rescue work. It explains how the rescuers of Kazakhstan will work together with the rescuers of…

ASTANA – Astana will host the Astana Keshteri music festival for the sixth time May 26-29 at three venues, reported Tengrinews.kz. According to the organisers, this is one of the most important cultural events in the country. Its main goal is to allow the widest audience to get to know the masterpieces of world art.…

ASTANA – Almaty businessperson Madi Sypatayev decided to change his life in 2011 by moving to France with his wife and three children. He later launched his own clothing brand with a marine motif and has ambitious plans to find his place in the market. “In 2015, I registered the Marino MADI trademark and started…

ASTANA – Soloists, the chorus and symphony orchestra of the legendary Milanese Teatro alla Scala will perform in September at the Astana Opera House, according to the opera’s press service. “This time we will come with a very large team, including orchestra, musicians, singers, conductors and stage designers. This is one of the important projects…

ASTANA – Bipek Avto-Azia Avto, Kazakhstan’s largest automobile holding, celebrated its 25th anniversary in April. During the quarter century, the company went from a modest AvtoVAZ dealer to the auto-retail leader and has even launched the new direction of country’s machine-building industry. In 25 years, the holding invested $353 million in the industry’s development. The…

ASTANA – Diplomatic ties between Kazakhstan and the European Union (EU) were established in 1993. Today, the EU is one of the country’s main political and economic partners. Ambassador Traian Hristea, head of the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, answered questions regarding the recently-adopted Rome Declaration, as well as the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA)…

ASTANA – The fourth Astana Piano Passion Festival, an international festival of classical music and competition for young pianists, officially opened in Astana April 22. Young talents from different countries will be competing over the next few days for the right to participate in other international festivals and to win cash prizes. The closing ceremony…

ASTANA – Artyom Abishev, a young race car enthusiast from Almaty, has decided to bring his hobby to a new level. He plans to push his project to construct a Lotus Seven locally via a crowdfunding platform. “Lotus Seven is a lightweight two-seater open-top sports car created by the Lotus company engineer. Over time, many…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan improved its position by four spots to 81st in the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index. The index is published biannually and compares 136 economies on factors and policies enabling sustainable travel and tourism development, which contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country, according to the…

ASTANA – International online merchant service provider Fondy Global has entered the Kazakh market. The local partner company bought its franchise at the end of last month. “We received several requests for cooperation from Kazakhstan. In addition, we very positively assess the dynamics of the growth of the e-commerce market in the short and medium…

ASTANA – In 2016, the gross inflow of the foreign direct investments (FDI) in Kazakhstan reached new heights, growing 40 percent compared to 2015 and surpassing the previous record from 2008, according to the National Bank of Kazakhstan. “The record inflow of foreign direct investment in 2016 was the main source of financing of Kazakhstan’s…

ASTANA – Crowdfunding has become a usual thing to people in developed countries. Kickstarter was launched in 2009 and today is one of the most famous crowdfunding platforms in the world, along with Indiegogo and GoFundMe. Russian analogue Boomstarter began in 2012 and has managed to reach IPO level. Kazakhstan is just starting to show…

ASTANA – The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is planning to launch the Astana International Exchange (AIX) this fall, which is expected to help create conditions for further economic growth. The initiative was discussed at the international conference “Kazakhstan: tapping international capital markets,” held April 12 in the capital. “Today, Kazakhstan’s economy is facing certain…

ASTANA –WikiBilim public foundation and Kcell, one of the country’s largest mobile network operators, have launched the new online project, Open University (OpenU), a local analogue of Coursera, edX and Udacity. Around 80 percent of the content will be in the Kazakh language. “As you know, expanding access to high-speed Internet is changing many industries…

ASTANA – The Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports has allocated 100 million tenge (US$319,400) for the first stage of reconstructing the ancient settlement of Saraishyk, reported Tengrinews on Apr. 3. “After the construction work, where a dam will be installed in order to preserve the natural site of the settlement of Saraishyk, we will…

ASTANA – Only two months remain until the event Kazakhstan has been waiting for several years. EXPO 2017 will open to visitors in June for the summer and one of the biggest issues has been how the capital will handle the perceived lack of accommodations for tourists. The Astana Convention Bureau, an organisation under city…