Astana Employment Centre to provide grants to create jobs for persons with physical challenges

ASTANA – The city of Astana plans to distribute state-funded grants to employers who create jobs for and employ persons with physical challenges, reports the city akimat...


Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan plan joint oil and gas venture

ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are studying the possibility of creating a joint oil and gas enterprise, said Kazakh Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbayev and Azerbaijani Minister...


QS ranks 20 Kazakh universities among top 300 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

ASTANA – Twenty Kazakh universities have been rated among the top 300 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) rankings 2019, reported the...


Weeding out fake news is important, say OSCE Central Asia Media Conference participants

ASTANA – Discussions among media professionals on how to collaborate in news production, improve content quality, fight fake news and increase media literacy, as well as the...


Kazakh housing construction investments surge 31.5 percent, exceed $2 billion

ASTANA – Investments in housing construction have grown 31.5 percent compared to 2017, reaching 818.9 billion tenge (US$2.2 billion), reported Kazakh Minister for Investments and Development Zhenis...


Kazakh economy ministry to build on business environment progress

ASTANA – Kazakhstan has entered the top 30 countries in the world in ease of doing business and will continue fostering a dynamic environment, said Minister of...


Tarbagatai National Park opens in East Kazakhstan

ASTANA – The Kazakh Government recently opened the Tarbagatai National Park in the Urzhar district in the eastern Kazakhstan to preserve the area’s diverse nature, develop tourism...


Kazakhstan to open trade offices in 10 countries

ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kazakh Export and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) Atameken recently signed a memorandum of understanding and agreed on a...


Geneva Conventions translated into Kazakh

ASTANA – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented the translations Oct. 29 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols into the Kazakh language. The translation...


Kazakh team wins TechWomen seed grant to address domestic violence

ASTANA – Five young and successful Kazakh women won a TechWomen seed grant for their Uki.kz project. The award ceremony at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco concluded...


Estonian Prime Minister’s visit to Kazakhstan focuses heavily on digital agenda

ASTANA – Estonian Prime Minister Jüri Ratas paid a Nov.5-6 official visit to Kazakhstan for the first time. He was invited to take part in the Digital...


Paramount Group’s Kazakh defence industry venture pioneers to export globally

ASTANA – Paramount Group, a South Africa-based global defence and aerospace company, operates in countries in the Middle East, South America and Africa. Its joint venture Kazakhstan...


Kazakh-Russian economic cooperation is strong and developing, says Russian trade rep in Kazakhstan

In this interview, Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in Kazakhstan Alexander Yakovlev discussed new opportunities the strengthening of trade and economic relations that the Eurasian Economic...


Astana Club platform to host fourth meeting, focus on Eurasian unity

ASTANA – The Astana Club international forum will host a Nov. 12-13 annual meeting of 50 leading experts, politicians and diplomats from 33 countries. The fourth meeting...


72-hour visa-free transit for Chinese and Indian citizens increases tourist flow to Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan in recent years has been intensively turning into a Central Asian transport hub. Our country is often called the bridge of Eurasia, based on the geopolitical...


Kazakh skater wins silver at World Short Track Cup in Calgary

ASTANA – Kazakh athlete Abzal Azhgaliyev finished second in the 500 metres at the season-opening World Cup Short Track Nov. 2-4 in Calgary, Canada. Finishing the race...


Chevron pioneering technology in Kazakhstan solves industry’s pipeline challenges

ASTANA – Pipeline corrosion is a major challenge faced by the global oil and gas industry, as a corroded pipeline presents a clear risk to the environment...


Film director brings domestic violence against women into spotlight

ASTANA – Kazakh independent film director Zhanna Issabayeva’s latest film, “Rejected,” was presented in late October and distributed nationwide on the Chaplin Cinema Network. The film is...


Kazakh beach volleyball team wins country’s first world tour gold-medal

ASTANA – The Kazakh beach volleyball team of Alexey Sidorenko and Alexander Dyachenko won a golden medal at the recent Caspian Sea Series World Tour in Bandar...


Kazakh women’s basketball team wins first silver at Asia U18 championship

ASTANA – The Kazakh basketball team consolidated its claim to second place in the Division B final of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Under-18 (U18) Women’s Asian...


Latest World Bank Doing Business Index affirms Kazakhstan’s measures to improve business environment

As we have pointed out before, having the courage to set big ambitions is vital whether you are an individual, business or country. Without such goals, there...


Kazakh FM praises appointment of new U.N. special envoy for Syria

ASTANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Abdrakhmanov recently praised the appointment of Geir Pedersen as new UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria in comments...


Kazakhstan’s peacekeeping mission to Lebanon is another contribution to peace

On Oct. 31, a Kazakh peacekeeping company of 120 people arrived to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for deployment as part of the forces of...


No single state corporation can function successfully for long, says Singaporean Ambassador to Kazakhstan

Singaporean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zulkifli Bakharudin recently spoke with exclusive.kz, noting the secret of his country’s success is the absence of a “sacred cow.” The nation is...


External News in Brief

New Delhi hosted the round-table discussion, “Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran-India: Current Situation and Prospects,” Oct. 31. The event focused on logistics opportunities along the eastern route of the 7,200-kilometre North-South...


National news in brief

The French company Urbasolar SAS has attracted funding for the construction of a solar power plant in the Turkestan region, reports Kazakhstan’s Atameken Business Channel. The project,...


Business news in brief

French firm Alstom will implement two projects in Almaty, Alstom board member Philippe Delair told a recent Kazakh-Europe business forum in Brussels. The first project is to...


Economic News in Brief

The investment income of Kazakhstan’s Unified Accumulation Pension Fund (UAPF) for the first three quarters of 2018 reached 663.1 billion tenge (US$1.79 billion). At the end of...


Kazakh Senate adopts amendments to 2018-2020 budget plan

ASTANA – The Kazakh Senate adopted changes to the national budget for 2018-2020 during its Oct. 25 plenary session. The updated document increased the expected exchange rate...


Urbanism activists preserve architectural heritage through research and dialogue

ASTANA – Archcode Almaty, a research project to conserve the former capital’s architectural identity, seeks to preserve what “we will pass on to those who will live...