Zhambyl Region to Build 2 GW Wind Power Plants
ASTANA – Two large wind power plants with a combined capacity of two gigawatts (GW) will be built in the Zhambyl Region, as was announced at a staff meeting chaired by governor Yerbol Karashukeyev, reported the regional administration’s press service. The region, which is currently working in six areas to enhance energy efficiency and conservation,…
Kazakhstan Considers Opening Crypto Banks
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is considering the establishment of crypto banks, which can play a key role in the formation of a sustainable ecosystem, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov stated in response to a formal inquiry from members of the Mazhilis, a lower house of Parliament, on April 25. According to the Mazhilis, Bektenov said the basic…
Kazakhstan, UNRCCA Discuss Regional Security, Sustainable Development
ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu met with Kaha Imnadze, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA), who arrived in Astana to participate in the Interregional Dialogue on the Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Returnees from…
Astana Prioritizes Trade Barrier Removal During ECO Chairmanship
ASTANA – During its current chairmanship of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Astana is focusing on the elimination of trade barriers and the development of logistics connectivity, Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Kazakh Government Galymzhan Koishybayev stated at the first ECO Ministerial Forum on Sustainable Development on April 27-29 in Arkadag,…
Kazakh Students Publish First AI-Generated Newspaper
ASTANA – Master’s students from the Faculty of Journalism at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University have published AI-Tamyz, the first-ever scientific, educational, convergent, and inclusive newspaper in the Kazakh language using artificial intelligence (AI), the university’s press service reported on April 28. Alongside the printed edition, AI-Tamyz offers digital, audio-text, and video content. Articles, images, videos,…
WB Forecasts 2.5% Economic Growth for Europe, Central Asia
ASTANA – Economic growth in the developing economies of Europe and Central Asia is projected at 2.5% for 2025-26, reflecting weaker external demand and a slowdown in Russia, according to the World Bank’s Economic Update released on April 23. In 2024, growth across the region stabilized at 3.6%, driven by private consumption and supported by…
Travel Show About Kazakhstan Premieres on Amazon Prime
ASTANA – The popular American travel show, Travel by Dart, which dedicated three episodes to Kazakhstan, has premiered on Amazon Prime, the Kazakh Tourism national company reported on April 28. The show’s format involves selecting a destination by randomly throwing a dart at a world map. Last year, the producers contacted Kazakh Tourism to organize…
UAE Sugar Giant Enters Kazakhstan’s Market
ASTANA – One of the world’s leading sugar industry companies, Al Khaleej Sugar from the United Arab Emirates, plans to build a sugar plant in Kazakhstan’s Almaty Region, as was announced at an April 27 meeting between the region’s governor, Marat Sultangaziyev, and the company’s managing director, Sheikh Jamal Al Ghurair, reported the regional administration’s…
EBRD to Allocate $25 Million to Support Women-Led Enterprises in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide up to $25 million to support women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kazakhstan through a new term loan to leading microlender KMF, the EBRD’s press service reported on April 24. The financing aims to promote women’s entrepreneurship and business activity by…
European Immunization Week 2025 Begins in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has launched European Immunization Week (EIW), taking place from April 27 to May 3 under the theme: Immunization for All is Humanly Possible, the Kazakh Health Ministry reported. The campaign aims to remind people that vaccination saves lives. Thanks to widespread immunization, polio has not been registered in Kazakhstan since 1996, and…
Kazakhstan Uses Recovered Assets to Improve Water Supply Systems
ASTANA – The Special State Fund has directed recovered illegal assets to improve water supply systems in Kosshy and Makinsk, two cities in the Akmola Region, the Prime Minister’s press service reported on April 28. In Kosshy, 476.7 million tenge (US$926,501) was allocated to complete the city’s water supply system, aiming to provide 100% centralized…
New Book by Kazakh Journalist Reveals Untold Stories of World War II
ASTANA – On the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, Kazakh journalist and author of documentary projects Maya Bekbayeva presented her new book “Kazakhstan. Contribution to Victory” on April 23, revealing previously unknown stories and lesser-known facts about Kazakhstan’s role in the war, reported Kazinform. The book is the result of years…
How Foreign Citizens Can Get Bank Cards in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – One of the challenges people face when they arrive in a new country to live and work is getting a bank card. In Kazakhstan, foreign nationals also face the same struggle due to cumbersome regulations and sometimes unclear banking policies. The Astana Times delves deeper into the process of obtaining a bank card…
Global Instability Drives Growth in Kazakhstan’s Domestic Tourism
ASTANA – Amid international instability and rising costs of outbound tourism, more people are choosing to travel around Kazakhstan, domestic tourism expert Sofya Tastemirova said at the KOMPAS International Travel Market conference, held during the Kazakhstan International Travel Fair (KITF) Travel Forum on April 24 in Almaty, reported KITF’s press service. Tastemirova noted that in…
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan Expand Horizons of Cooperation
ASTANA – Recent years have become a period of closer ties between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan not only in politics and economics but also at the level of the expert community and societies, Director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) Yerkin Tukumov said during the fourth meeting of the Kazakh-Azerbaijani Expert Council on April…
President Tokayev Highlights Strategic Role of Assembly of People of Kazakhstan at Anniversary Session
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the long-term, strategic impact of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK) at its 34th session on April 24, which marked the 30th anniversary of the institution, reported Akorda. Promoting labor and unity Tokayev noted that the Assembly’s daily work may not always be visible but plays a…
Kazakh President Meets Pakistan’s Army Chief, Highlights Strategic Partnership
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received General Asim Munir, the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Armed Forces, who arrived in Astana on an official visit on April 23, reported Akorda. They discussed cooperation in defense, military education, and the overall development of bilateral relations. President Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan regards Pakistan as a…
Kazakhstan to Train One Million Citizens in AI Skills Over Five Years
ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to train 500,000 schoolchildren, 300,000 students, 90,000 civil servants, 80,000 business representatives, and thousands of citizens from other areas in artificial intelligence (AI) skills over the next five years, said Daniya Akhmetova, the managing director of the Astana Hub International Technopark of IT Startups, at an April 17 press conference in…
Kazakhstan Plans to Open Trading House in Afghanistan
ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin proposed opening Kazakhstan’s trading house in Kabul during a meeting with Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar on April 22, reported the Prime Minister’s press service. Baradar welcomed the initiative and expressed Afghanistan’s intention to open its own trading house in…
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Strengthen Strategic Partnership
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov discussed the prospects for strengthening the multifaceted strategic partnership at an informal meeting in Turkistan on April 22, reported Akorda. President Tokayev thanked Berdimuhamedov for visiting Turkistan, the spiritual capital of Kazakhstan and a city of sacred significance…
Kazakh President, Turkmen Leader Visit Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty (People’s Council) of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the Khoja Ahmed Yasawi Mausoleum in Turkistan on April 21, reported Akorda. Berdimuhamedov’s visit includes an informal meeting and tours of several sites in the city. The leaders are expected to discuss prospects for strengthening the Kazakh-Turkmen…
Kazakhstan Installs Over 3,000 5G Base Stations
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has surpassed 3,000 installed 5G base stations nationwide, Kazinform reported on April 12, citing Kazakhtelecom, the country’s largest telecommunications company. Chief Innovation Officer at Kazakhtelecom Nurlan Meirmanov stated that the rollout is part of a consortium project with Mobile Telecom-Service, a joint company of Tele2 and ALTEL brands, and progress is ahead…
Mangystau Region Launches $3.6 Billion in Infrastructure Projects
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is implementing 24 infrastructure projects worth 1.9 trillion tenge (US$3.6 billion) in the Mangystau Region, Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev reported to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Aktau International Sea Port during the President’s visit to the region on April 18, according to Akorda. In 2024, the volume of cargo transportation along…
Kazakhstan to Develop National AI Strategy This Year
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is preparing to upgrade its Concept for the Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into a Strategy, announced Gizzat Baitursynov, the chairman of the AI and Innovation Development Committee at the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry during an April 17 press conference in the Central Communications Service (CCS). According to…
Kazakhstan Delivers 36 Wagons of Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan
ASTANA – Thirty six wagons of humanitarian aid from Kazakhstan arrived at the Hairatan railway station in Balkh province, Afghanistan, on April 17, reported the Prime Minister’s press service. Some 2,200 tons of aid included vegetable oil, wheat flour, rice groats, tents, and blankets. An additional shipment of essential medicines will be sent by air.…
