Articles by staff report

NUR-SULTAN – The Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund will be transformed into an investor holding only a controlling stake sufficient to control key sectors of the economy, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Sept. 1, reported the Akorda press service. Samruk Kazyna controls most of Kazakhstan’s state-run companies with its assets worth $69 billion. Other fund…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will provide $400,000 to Pakistan as humanitarian assistance to address the consequences of heavy rains and floods, which led to numerous human casualties in the country, reported the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press office on Aug. 31. According to the statement, the natural disaster, which started in July, claimed the lives of 1,033…

NUR-SULTAN – It is time to toughen the punishment for domestic violence, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his Sept. 1 State-of-the-Nation Address. According to Tokayev, society has debated whether domestic abuse should be classified as a crime for a long time. Law enforcement agencies are skeptical about this suggestion since it is difficult to detect…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced a one-time amnesty for some January riots participants during his annual State-of-the-Nation address delivered on Sept. 1, reported the Akorda’s press service. The state has reduced the penalties for citizens who participated in the January riots but did not commit a serious crime. According to the President, some…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev instructed to repair at least 95 percent of the country’s roads by 2025 in his State-of-the-Nation Address delivered on Sept. 1 at the joint session of the two chambers of the Kazakh Parliament. Tokayev urged the Kazakh government to take this issue under direct control. He highlighted the need…

NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed the need to increase judicial independence, proposed equalizing the status of all judges, and electing Supreme Court judges through the Senate in his Sept. 1 State-of-the-Nation address, reported the Akorda’s press service. “The rule of law should be a well-established principle in society. Justice must be served fairly. Thus,…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will launch a new program called National Fund for Сhildren in 2024 that envisions allocating 50 percent of the National Fund’s annual investment income to support children, nearly the third of the country’s 19 million population, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced in his Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation address, reported the Akorda press service. The…

NUR-SULTAN – Women’s retirement age will not be raised until 2028, staying fixed at 61 years, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Sept. 1, reported the Akorda press service. The announcement addresses the growing public demands to lower women’s retirement age. Kazakhstan has been raising women’s retirement age annually by six months since January 2018,…

NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the plans to create modern schools for 800,000 children by 2025 as part of the Comfortable School national project during his annual State-of-the-Nation address on Sept. 1, reported the Akorda press service. The move will help address the problem of schools with three shifts and those that require immediate…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will develop a national project to meet the needs of rural residents in 2023, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his Sept. 1 State-of-the-Nation Address, reported the Akorda’s press service. Tokayev asserts that medical and obstetric stations will be built in 650 villages within two years, serving over a million people. More than…

NUR-SULTAN – The water shortage in the agro-industrial sector has been among crucial issues raised by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his state-of-the-nation address at the plenary session of the Kazakh Parliament on Thursday.  “A serious obstacle to the sustainable development of the country’s economy is the water shortage. Now it has become a matter of…

NUR-SULTAN – The businesses face challenges due to the shortage of credit resources, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his Sept.1 state-of-the-nation address. According to Tokayev, the underfunding of small and medium-sized businesses in Kazakhstan reaches nearly $42 billion. At the same time, banks have accumulated multi-trillion dollar liquidity, which does not benefit the economy.…

NUR-SULTAN – Tokayev proposed to hold elections to the Kazakh Parliament and Maslikhat (local representative bodies) in the first half of 2023 in his Sept.1 State-of-the-Nation address, reported the Akorda’s press service. “We are building a fair Kazakhstan with open competition and equal opportunities for everyone,” said the President. Tokayev focused on the importance of…

NUR-SULTAN – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for extraordinary presidential elections during his Sept.1 State-of-the-Nation Address. “A new trust mandate of the people is needed for the successful implementation of fundamental and comprehensive reforms on the way to creating a fair Kazakhstan,” Tokayev said. In addition, the President proposed major revisions to the number…

NUR-SULTAN – The country needs to expand the use of retail tax with adequate rates and simple procedures to encourage trade, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his Sept.1 state-of-the-nation address.  According to Tokayev, exploring the possibility of introducing a “luxury tax” as part of new tax reform is also critical.  “It will be charged for…

NUR-SULTAN – The basic goal of the economic policy remains unchanged: qualitative and inclusive growth in the well-being of our citizens, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his Sept. 1 state-of-the-nation address delivered at the joint session of the two chambers of the Kazakh Parliament in Nur-Sultan. “Our people supported the course of political modernization…

NUR-SULTAN – Some 60 akyns (impromptu poets or singers) will compete for a unique dombyra encrusted with precious stones in the “Asyl Dombyra” (Sacred Dombyra) project, aimed at revealing young talents in aitys art. The contest will start Sept. 3 and will be broadcast on the Khabar TV channel, reported the channel’s press service on…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh pop star Dimash Kudaibergen shared a video of playing the drum kit while rehearsing for his solo concert on his Instagram page on Aug. 29. Singer’s skills delighted his followers. Kudaibergen’s solo concert will take place Sept. 23 at the Almaty Central Stadium. The artist has promised a vibrant, ultra-modern show in…

NUR-SULTAN – Initiatives proposed by the President form the basis for further reforms, said Kazakhstan’s State Counselor Erlan Karin on his Telegram channel on Aug. 31. On the eve of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s fifth state-of-the-nation address, Karin analyzed the interim results of the implementation of the presidential address delivered in September of last year. According…

NUR-SULTAN –  Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani discussed trade and economic cooperation during an Aug. 31 meeting in Nur-Sultan, reported the Akorda’s press service. Al Thani and Tokayev addressed the potential ways for implementing joint investment projects in key economic…

NUR-SULTAN – The Winter Garden in the National Academy of Science in Almaty will host an exhibition in the memory of monumental artist Vladimir Tverdokhlebov, who passed away on July 26, the artist’s daughter, Anara Forrester, wrote on her Facebook page.  Tverdokhlebov decorated the Academy of Sciences building in the early 1980s, which still has…

NUR-SULTAN – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s fifth state-of-the-nation address will be broadcast live on Sept. 1 at 11 a.m. Nur-Sultan time, reported Akorda’s press service on Aug. 31. It will be live-streamed on national TV channels, the websites of media outlets, and the official social media channels of the President’s Press Office. While the nation’s social…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is observing an increase in domestic tourism demand in recent years primarily influenced by the pandemic-related restrictions, reported the press service of the Prime Minister. The number of tourists increased by 121.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021 and reached 1.13 million people, according…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh capital is entering its final stages of preparation for the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, which will be held on Sept. 14-15, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service on Aug. 27. Approximately 100 delegations from 60 states, including representatives of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shintoism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism…

NUR-SULTAN – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Mukhtar Tileuberdi and Executive Secretary of Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd reaffirmed their commitment to a nuclear weapons free world and reiterated their determination to achieve the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in a joint…