Astana Technology Commercialisation Centre Seeks Grant Proposals
ASTANA – Astana’s Technology Commercialisation Centre (TCC) issued a new call for proposals on Sept. 16 as part of its efforts to support the commercialisation of innovative technologies in Kazakhstan. Applications are being accepted for two types of grants: a six-month proof of concept grant of $120,000 for earlier-stage technologies and a 12-month grant of…
EBRD, UNDP, Government Unveil Energy-Saving School Renovations
ASTANA – The government of Kazakhstan, the UN Development Programme and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have completed a joint project to demonstrate the energy-saving possibilities of upgrading the Kazakh capital’s schools. The project at public school No. 25, which was launched in 2011 and presented on Sept. 6, is expected to…
Youth Debate Societal Challenges, Civic Engagement on International Youth Day
ASTANA – The United Nations in Kazakhstan marked International Youth Day on Aug. 12 with a conference open to all interested young people and youth organisations. It was addressed by programme staff from the UN Development Programme, UN Volunteers and UNICEF and opened by UN Permanent Representative in Kazakhstan Stephen Tull. It was standing room…
Mangistau Civil Servants Attend Management Personnel Training Through EU Project
ASTANA – On Aug. 4, over 100 civil servants from the Mangistau region attended a seminar in Aktau on integrated information systems and the role of new technologies in their work, including Kazakhstan’s new E-kyzmet integrated information system for civil service personnel management that is planned to be completed by the end of next year.…
Conference Marks UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons
ASTANA – Ambassadors and representatives of nongovernmental organisations and the United Nations discussed the state of slavery, trafficking in persons and ongoing efforts to combat both during a July 30 conference hosted by Astana’s Kazakh State Juridical University. The conference was held to mark the first UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. The UN…
Transport and Logistics Business Development Tour Leads to Potential Partnerships
ASTANA – Fifteen small and medium-sized business owners, including four women, in the transport and logistics sector returned to Kazakhstan on June 20 from a business development tour through Washington, DC; Chicago, Illinois; Jacksonville, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia, where they met potential American partners, received general and sector-specific business training and learned about the American…
Proposed Changes to Oralman Legislation to Relax Some Settlement Rules
ASTANA – Kazakhstan may once again adjust legislation relating to ethnic Kazakhs wishing to immigrate to Kazakhstan (called oralmans, “returnees,” in Kazakh) in response to the country’s demographic goals and the needs of migrants. According to Aslan Karzhaubayev, vice chairman of the Committee on Migration of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, who spoke…
Kazakhstan Takes 8th Place in International Physics Olympiad
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s team has come in eighth out of 85 countries in the unofficial results of the 45th International Physics Olympiad (IPHO), held at Astana’s Nazarbayev University from July 13-22. Students from Kazakhstan won three gold and two silver medals at the event, in which 383 high school students participated. During the competition, students…
US Ambassador-Designate Tells Senate Committee He Will Lead Growing Engagement in Kazakhstan
ASTANA – “As Kazakhstan increases its role and voice in regional and international affairs, the United States wishes to be Kazakhstan’s trusted strategic partner,” George Krol, U.S. President Barack Obama’s nomination for ambassador to Kazakhstan, testified to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 17. Krol is currently U.S. Ambassador to Uzbekistan and served…
Sixteen Grants to be Awarded to Innovative Entrepreneurs through Technology Commercialisation Centre
ASTANA – Sixteen projects have been approved for funding through the Innovation Grant Programme run by Astana’s Technology Commercialisation Centre (TCC), the TCC announced on July 9. Grants will be given in two categories: proof of concept, a $120,000 grant for a six-month implementation period, and industrial prototype development, a $400,000 grant for an 18-month…
Pastry Artists Awarded at Capital Day Confectioners Festival
ASTANA – Astana’s sweets shops were honoured and assessed in a morning sugar rush on July 4 at Congress Hall at the second Astana Confectioners’ Festival, a celebration of sugar and spice. Three awards were given at the festival: best cake, best design and best confectionery. The best cake laurel went to the Aprel bakery,…
National Museum of Kazakhstan Opens With Presidential Speech, International Visitors
ASTANA – Astana’s new National Museum of Kazakhstan was opened by President Nursultan Nazarbayev on July 2, in the midst of two days of events, including a symposium and a cultural fair, to celebrate the launch of the capital’s newest attraction. In his speech opening the project of six years, Nazarbayev noted that the nation…
Current Relationship Excellent, More Financial Cooperation to Come, Says Swiss Finance Head
ASTANA – Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Finance of Switzerland Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf will visit Almaty and Astana from July 8-10 and is expected to meet with the top officials. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Sultanov and Widmer-Schlumpf are expected to sign a new memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation between…
TCC Works to Bring Domestic Science, Business Together
ASTANA – At Kazakhstan’s Technology Commercialisation Centre (TCC), Lead Expert Erik Azulay and a team of managers, scientists and other experts are working to marry those old, uneasy bedfellows, science and business. Through focused training sessions, a nationwide technology audit to assess the current state of applied science, a thorough review of existing intellectual property…
More Engagement, Not Less, Needed in Central Asia after Troop Withdrawal, Say Atlantic Council Experts
ASTANA – The Atlantic community’s engagement with Central Asia must be deepened and expanded, said Frederick Kempe and John Herbst of the Washington, DC-based think tank, the Atlantic Council, following their meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov and Foreign Minster Erlan Idrissov on June 9. As coalition troops are withdrawn from Afghanistan this year,…
EEX and Kazakhstan’s Caspi Sign Cooperation Agreement on Emissions Trading Technology
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and Kazakhstan’s commodity exchange joint stock company, Caspi, have signed an agreement to develop Kazakhstan’s exchange-based carbon permit trading. The agreement, signed on May 15 at the International Carbon Forum in Astana, says the EEX will provide support and technology for the development of Kazakhstan’s young emissions market. In particular,…
Albania Wants Kazakh Tourists, Investors, Prime Minister Says
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama praised the “dynamic and forward-looking” society he discovered on his working visit to Astana on May 24-25 and invited tourists and investors from Kazakhstan to visit his country. In a May 25 interview with The Astana Times, Rama said that introducing his country to Kazakhstan’s people and businesses was…
New Agreement Between EBRD, Kazakhstan Will See EBRD, Other Institutions Direct $2.7 Billion into Economy
The government of Kazakhstan and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed an agreement to engage the EBRD and other international financial institutions to direct $2.7 billion from the Kazakh government into priority sectors of the country’s economy. The new Partnership for Re-Energising the Reform Process in Kazakhstan is intended to boost…
EBRD, National Bank to Make $1 Billion Available for Local Loans
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the National Bank of Kazakhstan have signed two agreements that will allow the EBRD to source up to $1 billion in tenge from the NBK to use for loans to local institutions in local currency, the EBRD reported on May 21. The two agreements include one…
Senate Innovates, Ratifies Joint Russian-Kazakh Air Defence System
Kazakhstan’s Senate passed a set of legislation intended to foster innovation and ratified an agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia on creating a joint regional air defence system in a plenary session on May 15 chaired by Senate Chairman Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The aim of the Law on the Park of Innovative Technologies Innovative Cluster is to…
Economic Impact of Ukraine Crisis Could Affect Neighbours, EBRD Says
The crisis in and around Ukraine involving Russia and the resulting economic downturn is predicted to hinder the growth of many of the countries’ neighbours in Central Asia and beyond, says the latest economic report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) issued on May 14. In January, the EBRD predicted a 2.7…
Kazakh Wrestler Wins Gold at Asian Wrestling Championships
Kazakh wrestler Gyuzel Manyurova won gold at the Asian Wrestling Championships held in Astana from April 23-27. The victory is her fourth top finish in five years. Competing in the 75 kilogramme weight category, Manyurova, who is also the head coach of the women’s wrestling team, defeated Gulmira Ismatova of Uzbekistan and the Dalit wrestler…
Kazakh Youth Optimistic About Economic Future, Less Politically Engaged, Panel Suggests
Washington, DC – Kazakh youth are optimistic about their economic future and less interested in politics, despite their increasingly interconnected world, said speakers at a panel held at George Washington University here on April 21. “Youth in Kazakhstan: Societal Changes, Challenges and Opportunities,” a series of panel discussions held by the George Washington University’s Central…
EU Committee Lifts Restrictions on Air Astana Flights to Europe, Flights to Prague and Paris Expected Soon
Restrictions on Air Astana flights to Europe have been lifted, following the European Commission’s early April updating of its list of air carriers banned or subject to restrictions. Since 2009, Air Astana had been restricted from commencing any new European flights. Now, based on the unanimous decision of the EU Air Safety Committee, the company…
EBRD Provides $9 Million Loan for Transport Company Development
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a $9 million loan to Kazakhstan’s joint stock company Olzha to promote private investment in the country’s transport industry and to support the business’s development, the EBRD reported on March 28. Olzha, a nearly 20-year-old company, provides operating leases for freight wagons to corporate clients…
