Articles by Dana Omirgazy

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s assyk atu (knocking out knucklebones) team managed to beat the Mongolian team in the first round with a score of 2:0 at the fifth World Nomad Games on Sept. 9. Also, three Kazakh athletes reached the final in audaryspak or horseback wrestling. Sixty-four athletes from nine countries are participating in the audaryspak…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national team will compete in ten sports on Sept. 9 as the fifth World Nomad Games kicked off in the Kazakh capital on Sept. 8. The Kazanat Hippodrome will host kokpar competitions, with 104 athletes from nine countries participating. The teams of China, Hungary, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Russia, Türkiye, the…

ASTANA – Germany’s Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz will pay an official visit to Kazakhstan on Sept. 16-17. Scholz plans to hold talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and take part in the second meeting in the Central Asia + Germany format, reported Akorda on Sept. 7. In September last year, Tokayev participated in the C5+Germany…

ASTANA – In January-July, Kazakhstan’s tourism sector saw a significant increase in investments. During this period, the volume of investments in fixed assets reached 467.6 billion tenge (US$969.3 million), which is almost twice as much as the same period last year, when the volume of investments was 238.9 billion tenge (US$495.2 million). Investment growth was…

ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest includes articles on Kazakh President’s state-of-the-nation address, nuclear power plant referendum and more.  President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s state-of-the-nation speech: tax reforms, investment climate, and industrial potential in Kazakhstan EU Reporter published an article on Sept. 4 about…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Business Activity Index (BAI) continued to improve reaching 51.4 (50.9 in July) in August, according to the results of a monthly survey of enterprises conducted by the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The improvement was noted in all sectors. The greatest improvement was noted in the mining industry, where due to a noticeable…

ASTANA – The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has financed investment projects worth $900 million in Kazakhstan since the beginning of the year, said Nikolai Podguzov, Chair of the EDB Management Board, during a Sept. 5 meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov. By the end of the current year, the volume of investments is expected…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s budget deficit may total 4.1 trillion tenge (US$8.5 billion) by 2025, said Chairwoman of Mazhilis’ Financial Budget Committee and Deputy Tatyana Savelyeva during a plenary session on Sept. 4. The volume of national budget revenues in 2025 is projected at 21.7 trillion tenge (US$45 billion), including revenues – 15.6 trillion tenge (US$32.3…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan intends to introduce the institution of an ombudsperson for the protection of consumer rights. Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev presented to the deputies of the Mazhilis, lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, a draft amendment to the law on the protection of consumer rights on Sept. 4. The document…

ASTANA – The Arab Coordination Group expressed willingness to finance infrastructure and social projects worth $7 billion in Kazakhstan during a Sept. 4 roundtable meeting. The Arab Coordination Group (ACG) unites institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for International Development,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s David Degtyarev won the gold medal in the men’s powerlifting in the 54-kilogram weight category at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris on Sept. 4. Degtyarev triumphed over Cuban weightlifter Pablo Ramirez (185 kilograms) lifting 188 kilograms. China’s Yang Jinglang (179 kilograms) became the third. Degtyarev won the Paralympic Games for the…

ASTANA — The S&P Global Ratings international rating agency affirmed Kazakhstan’s credit rating at BBB and maintained a stable outlook. According to the Halyk Finance analytical center, it is much lower than the levels set in the country’s program documents and refers to the problem of inappropriate budget forecasting. The country’s oil and gas sector,…

ASTANA – Driven by the great love for his father, the support and understanding of millions around the globe, the suffering of people from nuclear testing, and the hope for human kindness, Karipbek Kuyukov, a Kazakh painter and global anti-nuclear activist, continues his struggle for a world without nuclear weapons. Kuyukov was born without arms…

ASTANA – This year, the situation with COVID-19 infection will not worsen in Kazakhstan compared to last year, said Health Minister Akmaral Alnazarova on the sidelines of the joint meeting of the houses of the Parliament on Sept. 2. According to her, nine people with coronavirus infection were hospitalized in the country as of Sept.…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is ready to welcome over 100,000 foreign tourists for the fifth World Nomad Games, scheduled for Sept. 8 to 13, said Deputy Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerzhan Yerkinbayev. “Over 2,000 athletes from 89 countries have confirmed their participation. International media are also showing considerable interest. For example, representatives of world media,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and high officials considered measures to implement tasks announced by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in his annual state-of-the-nation address delivered on Sept. 2. During a Sept. 3 government meeting, Bektenov emphasized that the new address “is an important and timely document, each line of which is dictated by the…

ASTANA — Inflation in Kazakhstan slowed down to 8.4% year-on-year in August, compared to 8.6% in July. “Prices for paid services increased by 13.6% over the year, non-food products – by 7.7%, food products – by 5.5%,” reported the Bureau of National Statistics on Sept. 2. Utility rates and the cost of some goods and…

ASTANA – Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov approved the forecast for the country’s social and economic development for 2025-2029 and draft laws on the national budget for 2025-2027 and on the guaranteed transfer from the National Fund of Kazakhstan for 2025-2027 during an Aug. 27 government meeting. According to Bektenov, the forecast was based on international…

ASTANA – KazPost (Kazakhstan’s postal service) has released the anniversary postage stamp designed to reflect the spirit and cultural significance of the fifth World Nomad Games (WNG). The cancellation ceremony – the practice of marking a postage stamp to indicate that it has been used –  took place on Aug. 27 with the participation of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s inflation is expected to slow down from 7.5-9.5% in 2024 to 5.5-7.5% in 2025, said Chairman of the National Bank Timur Suleimenov at an Aug. 27 government meeting. The Prime Minister’s press service reported on Aug. 27 that, according to Suleimenov, the implementation of monetary policy, the stabilization of external prices on…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has become the first country in Central Asia to open its permanent mission to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Aug. 26 in Montreal, Canada. Kazakh Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev, the President of the ICAO Council, the Secretary General of ICAO and the heads of aviation authorities of ICAO member…

ASTANA – Almaty will host the Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition KIOGE 2024 on Sept. 25-27, which will bring together representatives of state agencies, business and experts. The event is supposed to attract 380 participants from 19 countries. According to the KIOGE press service, the program will highlight key projects in the oil and…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s dombra player Alibek Kaiyrbek, 26, performed Kazakh composer Kurmangazy’s famous kui “Adai” at the highest point in Europe – Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus. Kaiyrbek, a professional musician and mountaineer, posted a video on his Instagram page on Aug. 24. It took seven days for Kaiyrbek to climb Elbrus at an impressive…

ASTANA – Kazakh and German counterparts have reached agreements on new projects to enhance agricultural cooperation and ensure efficient irrigation and water conservation during Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev’s working visit to Germany. At the meeting with Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Education and Research Jens Brandenburg, the sides discussed the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s chess player Bibisara Assaubayeva won the silver medal at the first stage of the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix 2024-2025, which took place in Tbilisi from Aug. 14 to 25. Alina Kashlinskaya from Poland came out on top in the tournament, reported the Kazakhstan Chess Federation on Aug. 25. The second stage will…