National Bank Keeps Base Rate at 14.5 Percent Amid Adverse Economic Conditions
NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh National Bank’s monetary policy committee has decided to keep the base rate at 14.5 percent per annum with a corridor of +/- 1.0 percentage points amid an adverse economic situation in the region, reported the bank’s press service on Sept. 5. The decision is driven by the increasing prices of logistics…
President Tokayev Addresses Fire’s Aftermath in Kostanai Region
NUR-SULTAN – All measures are being taken to mitigate the consequences of the fires in the Kostanai Region, said Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Sept. 5 meeting of the operational headquarters to battle fires in the region, reported the Akorda’s press service. According to Tokayev, the situation in the region is under control. The…
President Tokayev Arrives in Kostanai Region as Forest Fires Burn Record 43,000 Hectares
NUR-SULTAN – The Kostanai Region declared a state of emergency on Sept. 4 after forest fires burned a record 43,000 hectares (the size of Сarribean Barbados’ island) and forced an evacuation of 1,841 people. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in the region today. The President held a meeting with the operational headquarters, where he learned about…
Ambassador of Friendship from Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan Says APK Plays Invaluable Role in Rapprochement of Nations
NUR-SULTAN – The contribution of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan (APK) is invaluable and its activities play a major role in the rapprochement of nations and cultures, said APK Ambassador of Friendship in France Malgorzata Oboron-Thouard in a recent interview with The Astana Times. The Ambassador of Friendship’s activities are aimed at broadening…
Astana Ballet’s Tenth Season tо Kick Off with “The Silk Road” Ballet
NUR-SULTAN – The Astana Ballet Theater will stage “The Silk Road” ballet, choreographed by an honored worker of Kazakhstan Mukaram Avakhri, on Sept. 9-10, opening the tenth season, reported the theater’s press service. The two-act performance, which premiered earlier in June, will unveil to the public the history of the emergence of the Great Silk…
Cholpon-Ata Meeting of Eurasian Intergovernmental Council Fortifies EAEU Industrial Cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – The heads of the governments of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) discussed the development of the common gas market at an Aug. 25 meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Cholpon-Ata, reported the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press office. Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin,…
CPC Proceeds in Oil Shipment Using Only Single Point Mooring, Reduces Oil Delivery Volume
NUR-SULTAN – The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) pipeline temporarily loads crude oil using only SPM-3 single point mooring, reported the CPC press service. A diving survey of the SPM-3 was conducted at the CPC Marine Terminal on Aug. 24. The underwater equipment of the remote mooring device was recognized as suitable for the operation without…
Kazakhstan to Build Children’s Creative Center Named After Kurmangazy in Azerbaijan
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan will start the construction of the Children’s Center for Creative Development named after Kurmangazy next month in the city of Fuzuli in Azerbaijan, said President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during his official visit to Azerbaijan, reported the Akorda’s press service. Tokayev noted that the center, reflecting the two countries’ friendship, brotherhood, and mutual support,…
Kazakhstan Recognizes Women’s Political Engagement As a Pillar in Quality of Life Improvement, Says Senate Deputy at SCO Women’s Forum
NUR-SULTAN – There is a growing consensus in Kazakhstan that women’s political engagement improves the quality of life, said Deputy of the Senate, the upper chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, Lyazzat Suleimen at the Women’s Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), reported the Senate’s press service. Suleimen said Kazakhstan has established a legislative and…
Tokayev, Aliyev Sign Key Agreements to Boost Kazakhstan-Azerbaijan Strategic Cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed the declaration on strengthening strategic relations and deepening allied interaction and the comprehensive program to develop bilateral cooperation, reported Akorda’s press service on Aug. 24. During President Tokayev’s first official visit to Baku, the Kazakh and Azerbaijani sides signed the government agreement…
Pope Francis to Hold Holy Mass for Catholics During His Visit in September
NUR-SULTAN – Pope Francis will conduct an open-air holy mass for Roman Catholics and representatives of other religions and confessions on Sept. 14 in Nur-Sultan, reported the press service of the seventh Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions. The mass will start at 4.45 p.m. Nur-Sultan time at the International Exhibition Center…
President Tokayev Pays First Official Visit to Azerbaijan to Fortify Bilateral Cooperation
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev during his first official visit to Baku as the head of state on Aug. 24, Akorda’s press service reports. President Tokayev was greeted with an official welcoming ceremony, after which the presidents held bilateral talks. “Firstly, I would like to express my…
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Agree to Implement Logistics Projects Prior to President Tokayev’s Visit to Baku
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) national railway company and Baku International Sea Trade Port, the largest port of the Caspian sea, signed a memorandum of cooperation in logistics that envisions implementation of joint projects in the framework of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s official visit to Baku on Aug. 24, reported the company’s press service. The…
Kazakhstan’s Non-Primary Exports Rise to Nearly 34 Percent in Six Months
NUR-SULTAN – The export of non-primary goods from Kazakhstan increased by 33.5 percent in the first half of this year and topped out at $12 billion, according to QazTrade, the center for trade policy development under the Kazakh Ministry of Trade and Integration, reported the ministry’s press service on Aug. 17. Overall, the trade turnover…
Kazakhstan Ranks 73rd in Henley Passport Index 2022 Among 112 Countries
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan is ranked 73rd out of 112 countries with visa-free visits to 76 countries available to passport-holders, according to the Henley Passport Index (HPI) 2022 Global Ranking. Updated quarterly, the Henley & Partners research and consulting company forms the HPI based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Authority (IATA). The total…
January Riots in Kazakhstan: Police Discovers Only One-Third of Stolen Weapons
NUR-SULTAN – The police have found one-third of 1,259 service weapons, stolen from the law enforcement bodies during the January riots in Kazakhstan, including rifles, handguns and grenade launchers, said Deputy Head of the Criminal Prosecution Service of the General Prosecutor’s Office Yeldos Kilymzhanov at an Aug. 16 press briefing at the Central Communication Service…
Kazakh Mechanical Engineers Develop Electric Engine, Seek to Launch Mass Production
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh mechanical engineers from the city of Shymkent have invented their own electric motor for the car, reported the Khabar24 TV channel. Nursultan Seisenbay and Yerlan Rakhmatullayev, both experts with ten years of expertise, have created an electric engine prototype – a silent, ecologically friendly electric motor with fast charging capable of traveling…
David Charlin to Represent Kazakhstan at Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022
NUR-SULTAN – David Charlin, an 11-year-old Kazakh artist from Almaty, will represent Kazakhstan at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 following the results of the Baqytty Bala 2022 (Happy Child) children’s vocal competition, reported dimashnews.com. The 20th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest is set to take place in Yerevan, Armenia on Dec.…
New Cargo Train to Connect East China and Central Asia
NUR-SULTAN – A new freight train route connecting China’s eastern province of Jiangsu with Central Asian countries began operating on Aug. 13, reported the Chinese Xinhua news agency. The first cargo train departed from Wuxi, a city in southern Jiangsu province in East China. The shipment via rail track is projected to take nearly 20…
Kazakhstan Adjusts Oil Production Plan for 2022, Says Kazakh Minister of Energy
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh Minister of Energy Bolat Akchulakov announced a planned reduction of oil production by two million tons during his working visit to the Atyrau Region on Aug. 11-12, reported Kazinform. “The oil production plan has been adjusted. Our initial target was 87.5 million tons per year, but we revised it due to shipping…
Trade Turnover Between Kazakhstan, China Reaches Record-Breaking $11 Billion For First Half-Year
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with China topped out at $11.26 billion in the first half of this year, which is 36 percent higher than last year’s statistics, according to the Kazakh Economic Research Institute (ERI). According to ERI, both import ($4,63 billion) and export ($6,63 billion) data are at all-time highs, indicating a strong…
Budapest Hosts Book Presentation “Akhmet Baitursynuly and Alash” on Kazakh Alphabet’s Founder’s 150th Anniversary
NUR-SULTAN – The Turkic World Educational and Scientific Cooperation Organization (TWESCO) and the Organization of Turkic States in Hungary hosted a presentation of the “Akhmet Baitursynuly and Alash” book on Aug. 12, dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of an outstanding Kazakh poet and public figure Akhmet Baitursynuly, as well as the book “Journey through…
Passenger Traffic Growth in Kazakhstan: 4.5 Million Passengers Travel in First Half-Year
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakh airlines carried more than 4.5 million passengers in the first half of this year, indicating a 7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021, reported the press service of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development on Aug. 8. To date, Air Astana’s passenger…
Kazakhstan Enters Green Zone as Epidemiological Situation Improves Nationwide
NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan has entered the low-risk green zone as the epidemiological situation improved across the country, according to the Aug. 12 matrix updated daily by the interdepartmental commission on the prevention and spread of coronavirus. The commission reported 1,643 new daily COVID-19 cases in Kazakhstan on Aug. 11. Most of them were registered in…
Acquittals Surge Sevenfold for Serious Criminal Acts, According to Supreme Court Chairman
NUR-SULTAN – Chairman of the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan Zhakyp Assanov noted a seven-fold increase in the number of acquittals for felonies and serious criminal acts during an Aug. 11 meeting with Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev, reported the Akorda’s press service. According to Assanov, in every fifth case, law enforcement authorities are denied an…
