Articles by staff report

NUR-SULTAN – The Astana Opera House will present the two-part gala programs on Feb. 20 and 23, the theatre’s press service reported.  The new ballet programs feature six performances that are directed by People’s Artist of Russia and artistic director of the Astana Opera Ballet Company Altynai Asylmuratova.  “How Long Is Now?” one-act ballets staged…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Kazakh scientist, scholar and politician Salyk Zimanov on Feb. 19.  Zimanov, born in 1921 in Atyrau, is an outstanding scientist, public figure, doctor of law, professor and scholar of the Kazakh national academy of sciences.  Zimanov has devoted more than 45 years to Kazakh legal science.…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is celebrating the 90th anniversary of Kazakh poet, writer and translator Mukagali Makatayev on Feb. 9.  “His poetry touched the hearts of many readers,” wrote Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on his Twitter. “The poet’s anniversary coincides with the 30th anniversary of our independence. This is a holiday for every citizen of Kazakhstan,”…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s First President Nursultan Nazarbayev delivered remarks at the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF) Feb 5, as reported by the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This year, the forum was held Feb. 4-5. in an online format.  The message was delivered by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime…

NUR-SULTAN –  On the eve of the elections for Majilis (the lower house of the Kazakh Parliament) and the Maslikhats (local executive bodies) to be held on Jan.10, an important meeting of the Central Election Commission took place on Jan.8. Anastasia Schegortsova, a member of the Central Election Commission, said that the pre-election activities of…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi recently took part in the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and Support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), organized online in the Jordanian capital of Amman, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service reported. The participants discussed possible…

A Moscow-based court sentenced the former chairman of the board of directors of BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov to 15 years in prison in absentia. This was reported on Dec. 28 by the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office, according to Russian state news Agency TASS. “The Tagansky District Court of Moscow passed a verdict…

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Government decreed Dec. 24 to establish the Institute of Parliamentarism under the Parliament to fulfill the instructions of the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In Tokayev’s state-of-the-nation address dated Sept. 2, 2019, he instructed to create an appropriate structure under the Parliament, which should improve the quality of laws. The government and…

NUR-SULTAN – The sports and training center for snowboarding and freeskiing, a special type of alpine skiing, was opened on Dec. 20 at the park named after Mustafa Kamal Ataturk in the Kazakh capital, the city administration’s press service reported. Kazakhstan’s first artificial slope for snowboarders is also suitable for one of a special form…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan dispatched humanitarian cargo to Kyrgyzstan Nov. 26 as part of a joint effort to address the COVID-19 pandemic, reported the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The decision to send 16 tons of humanitarian assistance was initiated by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The cargo included 400 medical ventilators and…

NUR-SULTAN – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised nearly 14 billion tenge ($32.56 million) in the first green bonds auctioned and listed Nov. 17 on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, the ADB press service reported. The Bond Proceeds, which were issued under the ADB’s Green Bond Framework, will finance ADB’s portfolio of climate change adaptation and…

NUR-SULTAN – Aktau resident Azamat Sarsenbayev recently stunned the Kazakh social media after releasing a video featuring pink flamingos near Lake Karakol in the Mangistau region. A video drone footage went viral overnight.  “Thanks to these moments I love my country,” Sarsenbayev wrote in his video preview on Facebook.  Flamingos fly to the Mangystau region…

NUR-SULTAN – The editorial office of The Astana Times newspaper has received a certificate of appreciation for media coverage of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations presented by UN Resident Coordinator a.i. for Kazakhstan Yakup Beris.  This year, Kazakhstan joined the global campaign to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN.  “As one of…

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Foreign Affairs Mukhtar Tileuberdi met Oct. 29 with Kyrgyz Minister of Foreign Affairs Ruslan Kazakbayev in Nur-Sultan, reported the ministry’s press service. The parties discussed the Kazakh-Kyrgyz cooperation in trade, economic, investment, transit, transport and cultural and humanitarian sectors and increased cooperation in international organizations. Maintaining positive dynamics and regional…

NUR-SULTAN – Heads of states of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan released a joint statement in the light of recent events in Kyrgyzstan on Oct. 9, reported Akorda Press.  “As close neighbors bound by centuries-old bonds of friendship, good neighborliness, common cultural and spiritual values, we call on the people of Kyrgyzstan in these complicated…

Investment attraction is one of the main tasks that the Kazakh government has been working on in recent years. During the years of its independence, Kazakhstan has attracted $330 billion worth of foreign investment from more than 120 countries. The global pandemic, which significantly affected the global economy, also had a large impact on the…

Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi discussed the potential for greater cooperation with Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov and Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar as part of the Foreign Ministers’ Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Moscow, reported Kazakh Foreign Ministry press service.  During their meeting, Tileuberdi and Kyrgyz minister Aidarbekov discussed the implementation…

The foreign ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries have reaffirmed their commitment to the fight against international terrorism, drug trafficking, cross-border organized crime, and cybercrime during a Sept. 9-10 regular SCO Council meeting in Moscow. This is the first off-line event between the foreign ministers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.…

NUR-SULTAN – The President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Tijjani Muhammad Bande recognized the role of Kazakhstan “in championing the cause to ban nuclear test explosions and indeed all other nuclear explosions” at the 74th Session of the UNGA on Aug. 26.  The virtual event was held to commemorate the International Day against…

NUR-SULTAN – The SK-Pharmacy Company, the country’s sole pharmaceutical distributor, has launched the People’s Control section on its website to show where humanitarian aid to Kazakhstan comes from and how this aid was distributed, reported the company’s press service.  The company will also share information about the transparency of the procurement, and the supply of…

NUR-SULTAN – As more information about the COVID-19 virus has become available, experts have realized that the virus behaves differently in each country. In some countries, the danger of coronavirus was underestimated, measures were taken with a delay and hundreds of thousands of cases were reported, leading to thousands of deaths. Kazakhstan was one of…

There have been a string of reports in Chinese media outlets claiming that Kazakhstan has reported cases of an unknown pneumonia, one more deadly than the coronavirus. The Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan would like to officially state that this information is categorically FALSE. It should be noted that the WHO has official codes for…

NUR-SULTAN – Travel enthusiast Conrad Caeiro released a video about Nur-Sultan and his visit to the city on his YouTube channel “Vlog 360 Degrees”. Caeiro visited Nur-Sultan last September and used this opportunity to make a video featuring the main sights to visit in the city.  “This has been my first trip to Nur-Sultan and, in…

This year, the capital of Kazakhstan will celebrate its 22nd birthday on July 6. The celebratory events will be held virtually due to the epidemiological situation in the country, according to the press service of the city’s department of culture. The city administration plans to open social facilities to mark this day. The rehabilitation centers…

Kassym-Zhomart Tokaev opened up in an interview with Russian state news agency TASS First Deputy General Director Mikhail Gusman about the significance of Victory Day for Kazakhstan and its people.  “I am categorically against the falsification of history. Of course, the merits of our allies in those years – the United States of America, Great…