Articles by Assem Assaniyaz

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…

Kazakhstan to Export Meat to Saudi Arabia

NUR-SULTAN – Five Kazakh companies plan to export beef and lamb meat to Saudi Arabia as a result of bilateral cooperation between the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), reported the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture on Aug. 8. The Kazakh meat-processing companies of Altyn Kazyk from the Akmola Region,…

Three Leading Kazakh Universities to Become Research Institutions, Develop Breakthrough Technologies

NUR-SULTAN – Three Kazakh universities will be transformed into research institutions to spur the development of breakthrough technologies, said Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek at an Aug. 9 government meeting, reported the Prime Minister’s press service. The Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) has obtained research university status. The L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian…

Bloomberg: Kazakhstan May Become Eurasian Development Bank’s Major Shareholder

NUR-SULTAN – Kazakhstan might become the Eurasian Development Bank’s largest shareholder (EDB), as Russia plans to give up its majority stake to reduce the chance of the institution being sanctioned, according to Bloomberg’s data. Bloomberg assumes that Russia seeks to reduce its combined stake with Belarus to less than half to protect the country’s institutions…

Kazakhstan Celebrates Abai Kunanbayev’s 177th Anniversary

NUR-SULTAN – On Aug. 10, Kazakhstan celebrates the 177th anniversary of the prominent poet and writer Abai Kunanbayev. The Kazakh capital will host a series of cultural events to commemorate the date, reported the Nur-Sultan Akimat’s (city administration) press service on Aug. 9. The Central Library gathers citizens, as well as literary scholars to hear…

Digital Family Map Pilot Project Kicks Off Next Month

NUR-SULTAN – The Kazakh Ministry of Labor and Social Protection will launch the digital family map’s pilot project on Sept.1, reported the Central Communications Service (CCS). The digital family map is an automated system that will help identify families in difficult life situations to provide timely social assistance without the need for citizens to appeal…

Contest Launched in Nur-Sultan For New Public Space Design to Symbolize Spiritual Unity

NUR-SULTAN – A new public space will be opened in the capital that will symbolize spiritual unity. This was announced on Aug. 7 on the eve of the seventh Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, reported the Central Communication Service (CCS). Nazym Zhangazinova, the official representative of the Congress, invited all architects, landscape…

Vietnam and Kazakhstan to Resume Direct Air Traffic in September

NUR-SULTAN – Vietnamese VietJet Air low-cost airline plans to resume regular passenger flights between Kazakhstan and Vietnam next month, according to an Aug. 8 announcement of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development. Vietjet Air plans to launch the air communication on the Kamran – Nur-Sultan and Kamran –…

Government is Open for Business Community’s Input in Forming New Economic Policy, Says Kazakh PM

NUR-SULTAN – The government will consider proposals from businesses while drafting a new economic policy, said Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov at an Aug. 5 meeting with the council of domestic entrepreneurs and representatives of Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the Prime Minister’s press service reports. The draft strategy, developed at the initiative of the…