Articles by Aidana Yergaliyeva

Kazakh Dollar Deposits Hit Lowest Level Since May 2019

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh deposit market had a decrease in its dollarization level. The share of dollars has shrunk to 40 percent of the total deposits in June, reaching the lowest since May 2019, said economist Olzhas Tuleuov in his Tengenomika telegram channel. The dollarization of individual deposits of individuals decreased to 41.1 percent, and…

Kurban Ait During Pandemic: Kazakh Muslims to Accomplish Religious Duties Virtually

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Spiritual Directorate of Muslims changed the guidelines around the sacrifice ritual of Kurban Ait (Festival of the Sacrifice) Islamic holiday to ensure social distancing and the safety of the believers. This year Eid al-Adha will last from July 31 to Aug. 2. The celebration is derived from a story in the…

Kazakh Anti-Corruption Agency Proposes to Accelerate Establishment of E-Tenge to Encourage Transparency

NUR-SULTAN – Anti-Corruption Agency Chair Alik Shpekbayev proposed to accelerate the creation of a national e-currency to ensure absolute transparency in public procurement and eliminate corruption during a July 21 meeting of the agency’s board. “Some officials, even in such a difficult time for the country, engage in outright blasphemy, enriching themselves with the purchase…

E-Commerce Volume Expected to Hit Kazakhstan’s 2025 Targets

NUR-SULTAN –  The share of e-commerce in total retail during the lockdown has approached Kazakhstan’s 2025 target of 10 percent, said Minister of Trade and Integration Bakhyt Sultanov during a July 28 government meeting. According to Kazpost data, the e-commerce volume reached 435 billion tenge (US$1.05 billion), 9.4 percent of total retail, in the first…

Technovation Girls Competition Gives Kazakh Students Award For Innovative Augmented Reality App

NUR-SULTAN –  A team of Kazakh school students took home the Regional Winner in Asia title awarded by Technovation Girls 2020 for developing the Cerebrate brain training app that uses augmented reality to establish doctor-patient communication. Technovation Girls is a social-impact coding competition for girls in the age range from 10 to 18. The Cerebrate…

Kazakh Craftsmen and Artists Fill Up Virtual Marketplace With Unique Handicrafts 

NUR-SULTAN – Recent university undergraduates kicked off Este, a stylish and unique marketplace collecting the works of more than 120 Kazakh handmade artists in a single place. The people who prefer authenticity in the globalized world can find one of their kind clothes, accessories, postcards, children toys, paintings, among others. According to one of the…

Money Transfers Within Kazakhstan Reach $44.76 Million in First Five Months

NUR-SULTAN – The money transfer volume within Kazakhstan reached 18.5 billion tenge (US$44.76 million) in the first five months of 2020, which is 18.7 percent more than in the same period of 2019, as reported by ranking.kz. The number of transactions over the period increased 3.1 times, to 219,800, which in turn more than halved…

Kazakh Car Producers Prop Up Kazakh Economy In First Half Year

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh car industry has seen an overwhelming increase in domestic car production, an increase in exports, and car sales over the first half-year. The share of domestic cars exceeded 60 percent, the Association of the Kazakhstan AutoBusiness (AKAB) press service reported. Domestic car manufacturers produced 32,701 car units, which is a 58.6…

Kazakhstan to Limit Access to Tourist Zones Near Nur-Sultan Through End of July

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will limit access to tourist zones in the Akmola Region from July 24 to Aug. 3, announced Burabai district Deputy Akim (Governor) Ualikhan Gabdullin. The decision was made after public negligence of the quarantine regime was observed by the government, he explained. Earlier, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the World Health Organization…

Kazakhstan Launches Charity Fund to Lend Support to Medical Personnel, People in Need

NUR-SULTAN – The Menin Atamekenim (My Homeland) public association and Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs launched the Virus Dobra (Virus of Goodwill) charity action July 21 to organize systematic help to medical organizations combating COVID-19 and to citizens in need. The action organisers welcome help in any form. Both businesses and individuals can make money…

Kazakhstan Expands Construction Materials Market 3.3 Times Over Thanks to New Economic Program

NUR-SULTAN – The production volume of building materials for construction works has increased 3.3 times over, said Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development Beibut Atamkulov during a July 21 government meeting. The Kazakh government will also implement new measures to increase domestic products in the construction industry as part of the Economy of Simple Things…

Argentinean Dimash Dears Launch “La Era Dimash” Radio Station With Round-the-Clock Dimash Hits 

NUR-SULTAN – Millions of Dears (the term for die-hard fans of popular Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen) around the world are united in a mission to get everyone to hear Kudaibergen’s powerful voice. Argentinean Dimash Dear Paola Profeta recently launched the La Era Dimash radio station that broadcasts the songs of the Kazakh pop phenomenon around…

Popular Uzbek Singer Supports Kazakh People with Patriotic Song

NUR-SULTAN – Famous Uzbek singer and actor John Roomy (Jalaladdin Rumi) sang “Atameken (homeland),” one of the most prominent patriotic songs in Kazakh, to morally support all Kazakhs in this difficult period, Kazinform reported. Roomy’s instagram post with his cover of the song got over 10,000 views in three days, twice as much as his…

Eurasian Intergovernmental Council Commits to More Interstate Cooperation Projects

NUR-SULTAN – The prime ministers of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states have adopted and approved July 17 a number of multilateral initiatives such as comprehensive action plan aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus in the EAEU, interstate program for the production and provision of space and geoinformation products and services, maps of…

Archaeologists Find Rare Jewelry Tools During New Dig at the Ancient Kultobe Settlement in Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN –  The Kazakh Research Institute of Culture recently found 150-year-old jewelry tools, one of the rarest categories of finds, during a dig at the Kultobe settlement in Turkestan, reported inform.kz. Kultobe is one of the oldest settlements in Turkestan, located 700 meters from the Yassawi mausoleum. Before Kultobe became the capital of the Kazakh…

Kazakhstan to Issue Short-term Government Securities In Region of $2.43 billion to Support Economy

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Bank and the Kazakh Ministry of Finance will issue short-term government securities up to 1 trillion tenge (US$2.43 billion) on a regular basis until the end of 2020 to maintain economic activity, National Bank Head Yerbolat Dosayev said at a July 14 government meeting, reported Primeminister.kz. According to him, this…

Kazakhstan’s Car Sale Industry Grows By 12.2 percent Despite Pandemic 

NUR-SULTAN – The pandemic threatened to put many enterprises out of business, but the Kazakh car industry had a 12.2 percent increase in new car sales in the first half of the year, the Association of Kazakhstan AutoBusiness (AKAB) press service reported. Kazakhs purchased 36,150 new cars during the first six months. Nearly a third…

Mare’s Milk Use to Boost Immunity Increases Amid Pandemic in Kazakhstan

NUR-SULTAN – The treatment of COVID-19 is still experimental. Even now, Kazakh doctors are preparing to change the eighth edition of the clinical protocol for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Meanwhile, many Kazakhs have started to search for non-traditional prevention and treatment means such as saumal (fresh mare’s milk), kymyz (fermented mare’s milk), and…

Kazakhstan Makes Colossal Strides in Raising Its International E-Governance Ranking

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has hopped 10 lines up in the ranking of the United Nations’ (the UN’s) E-government Development Index (EGDI) in 2020 – a list comprised of the 193 UN member countries, reported the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry. The new ranking places Kazakhstan in 29th place,…

Cargo Transit Through Kazakhstan Increases 54 percent Over First Half Year

NUR-SULTAN – The transit volume of cargo through Kazakhstan increased 54 percent from January to June as compared to the same period last year, reported Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company press service. Transportation reached a capacity of more than 450,200 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU). “KTZ followed the results of work for the first half…

Internal Affairs Minister: Crime Rate In Kazakhstan Fell 37 percent in First Half Year 

NUR-SULTAN – The crime rate in Kazakhstan decreased 37 percent to 71,800 in the first six months of 2020, said Kazakh Minister of Internal Affairs Yerlan Turgumbayev in a July 11 video address, reported polisia.kz.   The Kazakh ministry observed significant improvements “thanks to the strengthening of measures to protect the rule of law in…

Kazakhstan and North Macedonia Mark 25th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations 

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan and North Macedonia have seen many improvements on the eve of their 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Chargée d’Affaires ad interim of North Macedonia in Kazakhstan Viktorija Chavkoska spoke about the progress in the bilateral relations between the two countries in an exclusive interview with The Astana Times. Kazakhstan and North Macedonia…

President Tokayev Signs New Public Health Code to Provide Extra Legal Protection For Kazakh Medical Workers

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed into law a new Code of Public Health and Healthcare System July 7, as well as the Law On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts on Healthcare Issues, the Akorda press service reported. The new code strengthened legal protection for medical workers, introduced a differentiated approach to…

Russian Medical Professionals Arrive in Nur-Sultan to Assist Kazakh Counterparts in Fight Against COVID-19 

NUR-SULTAN – A group of 32 Russian medical workers arrived July 6 in Nur-Sultan on a special flight of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the MFA) press service reported . The specialists will consult and assist Kazakh colleagues in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kazakh Ministry…

Kazakh Capital’s Emergency Medical Services Handling Increased Pandemic Workload With Utmost Professionalism

NUR-SULTAN – The workload on the emergency medical services (EMS) significantly increased during the pandemic in all parts of the world. Approximately 1,400 Kazakh ambulance teams circulate daily to serve around 18,000 calls in Kazakhstan. The Kazakh government introduced lockdown measures in mid-March and managed to keep the COVID-19 spread low and boasts among the…