Articles by Saniya Sakenova

ASTANA – QazaqAir plans to open a new route connecting Astana, Turkistan, and Samarkand starting May 1, reported the Kazakh Transport Ministry’s press service. Flights will operate twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, increasing the total number of Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan flights from 42 to 44 per week. Last year, QazaqAir was sold by Samruk Kazyna…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized the urgent need for coordinated action among Central Asian countries in response to accelerating climate change at the Samarkand Climate Conference on April 4, reported Akorda. Central Asia is highly susceptible to climate change, where the temperature is rising twice as fast as the global average. The region, Tokayev…

ASTANA – The Federal State of Hesse, a transport and financial hub in Germany, acts as a bridge for business cooperation with Kazakhstan, as was highlighted at the Kazakhstan Investment Day 2025 forum held on April 3 in Frankfurt am Main, reported the Prime Minister’s press service. Hesse hosts leading German financial institutions such as…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev shared his vision of a promising agenda for cooperation between Central Asia and the European Union (EU) at the Central Asia-EU Summit on April 4 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, reported Akorda. Expanding trade Tokayev expressed Kazakhstan’s readiness to increase exports to the EU across 175 product categories worth over $2 billion.…

ASTANA – The Agromash localization center in Kostanai has launched the production of self-propelled, trailer, and mounted equipment for the U.S. company John Deere, the Prime Minister’s press service reported on April 3. This became a crucial step in the development of domestic mechanical engineering and the introduction of advanced technologies in Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) quota will total 1.486 million barrels per day in May, OPEC+ press service reported following an April 3 meeting of the eight OPEC+ countries. Kazakhstan, alongside Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Algeria, and Oman, previously announced additional voluntary adjustments in April and…

ASTANA – Six businesspeople from Kazakhstan, including Vyacheslav Kim, Timur Turlov, Vladimir Kim, Dinara Kulibayeva, Timur Kulibayev, and Bulat Utemuratov, have entered Forbes’ 2025 World’s Billionaires List. Vyacheslav Kim, the shareholder and chairman of Kaspi Bank, Kazakhstan’s largest payments and fintech company, remains the wealthiest Kazakh businessman with a fortune of $7.1 billion, ranking 464th…

ASTANA – The Kazakh General Prosecutor’s Office supported President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s initiative to introduce a separate Criminal Code article establishing liability for bride kidnapping at a March 28 meeting of the Human Dimension Dialogue Platform consultative and advisory body. According to the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service, work is currently underway with relevant government agencies…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are the largest countries in Central Asia that hold colossal importance for maintaining the sustainable development of the region, said Kazakh Defense Minister, Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov, Kazinform reported on March 29. Since independence, the two countries have strengthened military ties through agreements on flight safety, military-technical sphere, air defense,…

ASTANA – Transportation and logistics, pharmaceuticals, green energy, water resources, and telecommunications will be key topics at an upcoming business forum scheduled during Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar’s official visit to Kazakhstan. This was revealed during a March 31 meeting between Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu and Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Slovenia signed memorandums of understanding in education and science, tourism, and trade, with Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Nataša Pirc Musar adopting a Joint Statement following talks on March 31, reported Akorda. The leaders considered creating the Kazakhstan-Slovenia Business Council to expand contacts between business circles. They also discussed Slovenia’s Luka Koper…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan emerged as the top-performing nation at the 2025 International Chess Federation (FIDE) World School Chess Championship, held from March 19 to 29 in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia, winning four gold, three silver, and one bronze medal across twelve tournaments in six age categories, FIDE reported. Astana’s seven-year-old chess player Abdul-Malik Kairat secured an…

ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev welcomed President of Slovenia Nataša Pirc Musar on March 31, emphasizing exceptional prospects that her official visit opens up for deepening and expanding the Kazakh-Slovenian partnership, reported Akorda. “We consider Slovenia as one of the main and very important partners of Kazakhstan in the Balkans. We have several attractive projects…

ASTANA – Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed the Central Asian Innovation Hubs, an alliance uniting Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan’s largest technology parks to advance startups and global innovation, at the AlmatyFair.ai exhibition on March 29 during Mirziyoyev’s working visit to Kazakhstan. As reported by Akorda, 39 startups from both countries participated in major IT…

ASTANA – Mikhail Shaidorov won the silver medal in the International Skating Union (ISU) World Figure Skating Championships 2025, held on March 26-30 in Boston, the United States. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, he claimed Kazakhstan’s third-ever medal in the sport. Previously, Denis Ten won silver at the 2013 World Championships and…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan welcomes the completion of negotiations on the draft Agreement on Peace and the Establishment of Interstate Relations between Yerevan and Baku, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a March 27 meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, who arrived for his first official visit in Astana, reported Akorda. According to Tokayev, this significant…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has been recognized as the happiest country in Central Asia, securing 43rd place in the World Happiness Report (WHR) 2025. In the Eurasian region, Uzbekistan ranked 53rd, Russia 66th, the Kyrgyz Republic 75th, and Armenia 87th. Globally, Finland topped the ranking for the eighth consecutive year, followed by Denmark and Iceland. Afghanistan…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to bring three to four additional Turanian tigers from Russia this year, Kazakh Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Yerlan Nyssanbayev announced at a March 26 government briefing, Kazinform reported. “Thus, we will begin a large-scale launch of the Turanian tiger reintroduction project. The exact timing is still under discussion,” he…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan is projected to lead Central Asia in economic growth, with its GDP expected to rise by 5.5% in 2025, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous year, according to the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Asian Economic Outlook and Integration Progress Annual Report released on March 25. The report attributes…

ASTANA – The Kazakh-Chinese eternal comprehensive strategic partnership is on the rise, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said during a March 26 meeting with Liu Jianchao, the head of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, reported Akorda. Tokayev expressed confidence that President Xi Jinping’s visit to Astana for the second…

ASTANA – Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Murat Nurtleu discussed multifaceted cooperation with Uzbek Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov at the first meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers during his working visit to Khiva on March 20, reported the Foreign Ministry’s press service. Kazakhstan remains one of Uzbekistan’s top three trading partners, with…

ASTANA – The Jibek Joly tourist train will set off on its third journey from March 20 to 25, celebrating the Nauryz holiday in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This time, the route will include Taraz, one of Central Asia’s oldest cities.  The international tour will cover Almaty, Turkistan, Tashkent, Samarkand and Taraz, offering travelers a five-day…

ASTANA — Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar signed documents with China to strengthen interdepartmental cooperation in water resources and archival affairs during his working visit to the country. The documents were signed at a March 19 meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Committee. According to the Prime Minister’s press service, the parties agreed to expand…

ASTANA – Mathias Cormann, the Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), will visit Kazakhstan for the first time in May to participate in the Astana International Forum, reported the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy. During a March 12 meeting with William Thompson, the head of the Eurasia Division in the OECD…

ASTANA – The Association of Investors of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states held its first meeting on March 18 in Astana, reported the Kazakh Foreign Ministry’s press service. The Investors Association was established following the decision of the SCO Heads of State Council at the Astana Summit in July last year. It serves…