E-services transition in public procurement exceeds state budget plan, says Kazakh Minister of Finance

ASTANA – The Kazakh government is fulfilling 117.9 percent of budget revenues, according to the January monthly report presented at a recent government meeting. The main factor...


Kazakh tennis player wins one leg of ATP Challenger Tour

ASTANA – Kazakh tennis player Alexander Bublik won the 2019 Hungarian Challenger Open, an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Challenger Tour tournament, held Feb. 4-10 in Budapest....


Kazakh President decrees reshuffles in government and administration

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed the heads of Syrbar Foreign Intelligence Service, Ministry of Internal Affairs and the new Secretary of the Security Council, the...


Kazakh sustainable investing expert advocates for business-led societal change

ASTANA – Businesses are key to greater societal change, a young Kazakh expert drawing on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment analysis and decision-making says....


Galysheva wins Kazakhstan’s first gold in Ladies’ Moguls at FIS World Championship

ASTANA – Kazakh professional freestyle skier Yulia Galysheva won the first gold of her career at the Feb. 9 International Ski Federation (FIS, Fédération Internationale de Ski)...


Contemporary Uzbek art on display at Astana exhibition

ASTANA – The Kazakh National Museum is presenting an exhibition of contemporary Uzbek photos and paintings. The show, running through March, gives visitors an opportunity to analyse...


Adopting children should be norm, says Mothers House Public Fund Director

ASTANA – Ana Uii (Mothers’ House) Public Fund has helped approximately 3,500 women keep their children in their birth families and more than 900 youngsters find adoptive...


Israel and Kazakhstan have close ties in education, medicine, agriculture and technology, says envoy

ASTANA – Israel and Kazakhstan have been developing close ties in different spheres and on various levels, exchanging experience and knowledge in education, medicine, agriculture and technology,...


Economic news in brief

The tax burden for Kazakhs earning less than 63,100 tenge (US$167) a month has been reduced by 90 percent as of this January. According to the Statistics...


National news in brief

A 60-hectare wholesale distribution centre for agricultural trade will be built in Karaganda, connecting the northern and southern parts of the country, reports the regional press service....


Business news in brief

Kazakhstan is the world’s largest flax producer with domestic producers collecting a record harvest of 700,000 tonnes this year, reports Abctv.kz. It surpassed flax export leader Canada...


External news in brief

Kazakh and German business representatives gathered in Hamburg Feb. 4 to explore the role of Kazakhstan as an economic and logistics hub in Eurasia and beyond. The...


Norwegian seed vault preserves seeds for global food security and diversity

ASTANA – Svalbard is home to approximately 2,500 people and one million types of seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a secure bank preserving copies of...


Kazakhstan launches Qazaq Epos contest to promote folk culture among youth

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will launch the Qazaq Epos project to encourage school students’ spiritual development through the prism of the nation’s rich ethno and philosophical legacy in...


From pipelines to apple orchards: Kazakh enterprise sees opportunity in managing diverse businesses

ASTANA – San Mir Astana represents a group of companies that at first glance have little in common. While one deals with repairing and rehabilitating oil and...


Almaty region, bordering China, eyes expanding industry, trade and tourism

ASTANA – In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Akim (Governor) of Almaty oblast Amandyk Batalov shares his views on the region’s transformation from a formerly agrarian...


Year of Youth harnesses one of Kazakhstan’s most valuable assets

Kazakhstan, as we are all aware, has been blessed with an abundance of natural resources under our soil and seas. The growth of our economy and the...


Inclusive global dialogue is Kazakh foreign policy priority, new FM tells diplomatic corps in annual briefing

ASTANA – One of Kazakhstan’s foreign policy priorities is to pursue inclusive dialogue between leading powers to overcome “bloc thinking” and reach consensus on key global issues,...


Child with autism models children’s clothing brands in Astana

ASTANA – Socialisation is vital for children with disabilities, believes educational psychologist and speech pathologist Zarina Dandybayeva. Her 13-year-old son, Alikhan Dandybayev, who has an autistic spectrum...


Sherkala captivates with ancient history, unearthly landscapes

ASTANA – Sherkala (also Shergala), a lone mountain with an unusual shape resembling a piala (small ceramic bowl) or gigantic yurt, is becoming the main tourist attraction...


Astana Opera premieres “Eugene Onegin”

ASTANA – Astana Opera House presented Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” staged by Italian director Davide Livermore Feb. 8-9 in the capital. Russian baritone Alexey Isaev and Talgat...


AFSA, global regulators launch Global Financial Innovation Network

ASTANA – Astana Financial Services Authority along with a newly-formed alliance of 28 financial regulators and organisations, including Financial Conduct Authority (from the U.K.), International Monetary Fund...


Astana Circus artists win prize at Monte Carlo International Circus Festival

ASTANA – The equilibrists of the Astana Circus Yoka Konurbayeva and Nazerke Merekekyzy, won prizes at the 43rd International Circus Festival in Monte Carlo Jan. 17-27. The...


Astana to build gas infrastructure on outskirts of capital

ASTANA – The national government plans to build gas infrastructure around the outskirts of the capital to provide blue fuel for urban heat and power plants, Koktal-1...


Kazakhstan moves annual funding of scientists to earlier in the year

ASTANA – Kazakh scientists implementing research projects and programmes began receiving funding in January for the first time since the country’s independence. Previously they received funding only...


Kazakh Ministry of Healthcare attracts infrastructure modernisation investments, as medical coverage doubles in rural areas

ASTANA – The Ministry of Healthcare intends to attract 1.3 trillion tenge (US$3.4 billion) in investments, bringing private investment in healthcare to 60 percent by 2025, reported...


British expert says AIFC ready to provide Islamic finance-related arbitration in Astana

ASTANA – Born and raised in the U.K., British lawyer and arbitrator, Freeman of the City of London, Shariah scholar and Islamic finance expert Sheikh Bilal Khan...


KazISS among world’s top think tanks for fourth consecutive year

ASTANA – The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President (KazISS) was ranked among the world’s top think tanks for the fourth consecutive year, the institute’s...


Neighbourhood outpatient clinics in residential houses to help meet Astana’s demand for health services

ASTANA – Creating multi-profile hospitals and compact outpatient clinics in residential houses should reduce the number of patients visiting traditional clinics, said Astana Public Health Department’s Head...


Kazakhstan ratifies Caspian Sea convention

ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the law “On the Ratification of the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea” Feb. 8, establishing the...