Articles by Staff Report

ASTANA – The volume of cargo transported via the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) through Kazakhstan increased 86% year on year over the first seven months of this year, reaching 1.6 million tons, the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund reported on its Telegram channel on Sept. 7. The share of exports from Kazakhstan increased by…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Cerebra AI-powered software for early stroke detection and faster and more accurate treatment was selected among the best startups for the TechCrunch Disrupt 2023 exhibition, The Tech reported on Sept. 5. As a member of Astana Hub International Technopark and the Astana International Financial Centre resident, Cerebra is a dynamic AI-driven platform…

ASTANA – Aiming to support Kazakhstan in its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides financial support for building a new 100-megawatt wind power plant Shokpar in the Zhambyl Region, the EBRD’s press service reported on Sept. 1. The EBRD will extend a loan of up…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated teachers and schoolchildren as a new academic year began for nearly 3.9 million children in Kazakhstan on Sept. 1. Approximately 382,000 children start school for the first time. The highest number of first-graders are in Almaty, the Turkistan Region and the Almaty Region, with a notable enrollment of students…

ASTANA – The Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan announced a new proposal on Aug. 31 for determining cashback amounts based on the length of a tourist’s stay as part of a package tour. Under the proposed scheme, tourists would receive a 5% cashback on the total cost of the tour for a one-night…

ASTANA – In 2022, Kazakhstan became the absolute leader in uranium mining, accounting for 42% of global production, with the share of Kazatomprom National Atomic Company constituting 22%, the Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund reported on Aug. 29. Samruk Kazyna Chairman Nurlan Zhakupov instructed to increase investment in exploration as he visited the Khorasan-U and…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will deliver his annual state-of-the-nation address to Kazakh citizens at a joint meeting of the houses of the Parliament on Sept. 1, reported the Akorda press service. Along with the deputies of the Mazhilis (lower house) and the Senate (upper house), heads of central government bodies, members of the National…

ASTANA – Yerlan Koshanov, the chairman of the Mazhilis, a lower house of the Kazakh Parliament, signed a decree to convene a joint meeting of the houses of the Parliament on Sept. 1 in Astana, reported the Mazhilis’ press service on Aug. 28. The meeting is being convened in accordance with subparagraph 2 of paragraph…

ASTANA – Two hunting dogs of the Kazakh tazy breed have earned prestigious titles at the World Dog Show 2023, held in Geneva from August 23-27, according to a report by Kazinform. A male dog named Pigeon received the title of Best Adult Male, Best of Breed, and Geneva World Cup Winner 2023 titles. Meanwhile,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s new international TV channel Silk Way Cinema will start broadcasting in Kazakh and Russian languages in over ten countries from Sept. 1, reported Kazinform on Aug. 27. The channel will broadcast educational and informative programs, documentary and musical projects, TV series of Kazakh production, and the Kazakhfilm studio’s movies. The new media…

ASTANA – Almaty hosted the presentation of the book “Liberalism and its Discontents” in Kazakh and Russian languages by political scientist and senior fellow at Stanford University Francis Fukuyama on Aug. 22. The publication was organized by the CAPS Unlock analytical center with the support of Open Society Foundation and Steppe and World Publishing. Released…

ASTANA – President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev reiterated the significance of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s visit to Astana on Aug. 25 in strengthening the friendly ties and the strategic partnership between the fraternal nations, reported the Akorda press service. During meetings in both narrow and wide formats, Tokayev and Rakhmon addressed future opportunities for collaboration…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan has improved its ranking in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), moving from 67th to 93rd place. This new ranking signifies that the country is free from the impact of terrorism. This was announced during an Aug. 23 meeting of the Anti-Terrorism Center of Kazakhstan, chaired by Yermek Sagimbaev, the National Security Committee…

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Roman Vassilenko and the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (EP), headed by Chair David McAllister, emphasized the importance of bilateral and regional cooperation, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service on Aug. 22. The meeting was also attended by the committee’s Vice-Chair, Željana Zovko (Croatia),…

ASTANA — The music video directed by the Kazakh director Aisultan Seitov for the song “A Lot” by 21 Savage featuring J. Cole in 2019 was ranked 82nd in the list of 150 greatest hip-hop videos by New York-based Rolling Stone magazine on Aug. 10. Rolling Stone, an American monthly magazine focusing on music, politics,…

ASTANA — Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will address via video call the BRICS Plus dialogue session on Aug. 24 in Johannesburg as the current Chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), reported the Akorda press service. Kazakhstan will join the meeting held as part of the 15th BRICS Summit, at the invitation of the President…

ASTANA – The Kazakh capital will host the Comic Con Astana international festival dedicated to the industry of comics, cinema, video games, anime, and other areas of modern popular culture on Sept. 15-17.  It will feature an alley showcasing comics authors and a fair area, where visitors can buy unique paraphernalia, anime, comics, books, handicrafts,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan-based fintech startup S1lkPay has secured a patent in the United States on Aug. 8 for its innovative method and system for distributed payment processing using a centralized payment-processing platform, reported the company’s press service. S1lkPay is a peer-to-peer prepaid card exchange platform where users provide instant access to their funds without the…

ASTANA – Serik Zhumangarin, Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration, discussed the development of trade and logistics opportunities with Pakistan at an Aug. 21 meeting with Khalid Nawaz Awan, the founder and chairman of TCS Private Limited, the country’s largest logistics company, reported the Prime Minister’s press service. Zhumangarin highlighted Kazakhstan’s…

ASTANA – In the first half of 2023, net profit of the Kazakhstan Electricity Grid Operating Company (KEGOC) grew 64.3% to 23 billion tenge ($49.7 million), compared to the same period last year, the company’s press service reported on Aug. 17. KEGOC’s operating income made up 114.4 billion tenge ($247.5 million), growing 11.3% by 11.5…

ASTANA – An education infrastructure support fund, established on the instruction of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has allocated money seized from corrupt dealings to build 62 schools, the government’s press service announced on Aug. 17. The schools, which will cost 96.5 billion tenge ($208.8 million), will be built for 76,000 pupils in several regions of…

ASTANA – Last year, around one million foreign tourists brought Kazakhstan 389 billion tenge ($841.9 million), a record result on taxes from tourism activities, the Culture and Sports Ministry’s press service reported on Aug. 16. Meanwhile, accommodation facilities in the country earned 183 billion tenge ($396 million). According to the National Bank, each tourist to…

ASTANA – The inflation rate in Kazakhstan decreased in July to nearly 14% in annual terms, said Deputy Governor of the country’s National Bank Vitaliy Tutushkin at an Aug. 15 government meeting, reported Kazinform. “Food inflation in annual terms has nearly halved from 26.2% at its peak in February to 13.5%. Non-food and service inflation…

ASTANA – The profit of air companies in Kazakhstan reached a record 80.5 billion tenge ($178.2 million) in July, according to the Bureau of National Statistics, Data Hub analytical source reported on Aug. 15. The previous record of 73.6 billion tenge ($162.9 million) was set in August last year. Over the seven months, airlines’ total…

ASTANA – Seventeen rural akims (mayors) were elected in seven regions of Kazakhstan on Aug. 13, State Counselor Erlan Karin wrote on his Telegram channel. Over the period of two years, Kazakh citizens have elected 1,668 akims of villages, settlements, rural districts, and towns of district significance as part of the presidential political reforms. Of…