On May 16 in Astana, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with secretaries of the Security Councils of the five Central Asian countries. The Kazakh president noted that the meeting was an important stage in the preparation for the Sixth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia, which will be held in Astana
According to the latest Regional Economic Prospects (REP) report published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Central Asian economies in 2024 are expected to see growth slowing to 5.4 percent. However, a rebound to 5.9 percent is expected in 2025. The report notes that intermediated trade with Russia, which had been a significant growth
The 16th Senior Officials Meeting of the Central Asia + Japan Dialogue took place on May 14 in Astana under the chairmanship of Nazira Nurbaeva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. The meeting was attended by the heads of the foreign ministries of Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and the Ambassador of Turkmenistan to Kazakhstan.
Yerzhan Yelekeyev, Chairman of the Management Board of National Company Kazakh Invest, on May 13 met with Pascal Zappone, Vice President of the Swedish company Scania CV AB, to discuss the company’s plans to expand investment activities in Kazakhstan, including implementing an investment project to assemble electric generators, Kazakh Invest reported. Scania manufactures industrial and marine engines, trucks,
A court in Astana on May 13 sentenced former Economy Minister Quandyq Bishimbaev to 24 years in prison for the “violent beating” to death of his wife, Saltanat Nukenova, in November 2023 in a local restaurant. Bishimbaev’s cousin Baqytzhan Baizhanov was sentenced to four years in prison for not reporting the crime, which he witnessed
The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Kairat Umarov visited Brazil last week for political consultations. At the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Eduardo Paes Saboia, the parties discussed current aspects of bilateral relations, the global agenda, as well as multilateral interaction on issues of mutual support for
Since the beginning of this year, about 70 thousand women have used the service of traveling in “women’s carriages” in trains of Kazakhstan’s national railways company, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. This figure has doubled compared to the same period last year — more than 34 thousand women, the company’s press service reported. Since the introduction of
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will host the 13th Central Asia Trade Forum, entitled “Trade Connections: Bridging Globally,” on May 14 and 15 in Almaty, the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan announced. With more than 10,000 government and business leaders from 25 countries in Central and South Asia, Europe, and the United States participating since
Artificial intelligence (AI) was behind deepfakes, originated in China, about the existence of US laboratories allegedly developing biological weapons in Kazakhstan. Reuters reported citing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 2024 homeland threat assessment that last year, a Chinese government-controlled news site using a generative AI platform pushed a previously circulated false claim that
On May 8, Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan gathered in Moscow for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the governing body of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Russian-led economic integration
Kazakhstan-based billionaire Mikheil Lomtadze has bought England’s Wycombe Wanderers soccer club, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Lomtadze’s Blue Ocean Partners Ltd. paid an undisclosed amount for a 90 percent stake in the club, which plays in England’s League One, the third level of the English football league system, the BBC reported on May 5. The 48-year old Georgia-born
Amid Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and geopolitical confrontation with the West, the Kremlin is taking efforts to strengthen its influence in Kazakhstan, Moldova, other countries of Central Asia, and in the South Caucasus. For this purpose, Russia has launched information campaigns using various news agencies and Internet platforms to disseminate Moscow’s narrative in
Significant steps towards expanding relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were made within the framework of the III Tashkent International Investment Forum on May 2-3, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan reported. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Nazira Nurbayeva spoke at the event, saying that last year, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan reached
Kazakhstan’s national railways company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) has announced that the issues of organizing the launch of an international tourist passenger train from China’s Xi’an to Almaty were discussed during a working meeting of the heads of NC KTZ JSC, Passenger Transportation JSC and a delegation of the government of Xi’an (PRC). The tourist
Azerbaijan and Armenia are expected to hold negotiations in Almaty at the suggestion of the Kazakh side, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on May 1. “I welcome the agreement between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Armenia to hold talks at the Foreign Ministers’ level on the preparation of a peace treaty between
The first meeting of the Business Council of Kazakhstan and Croatia was held in Zagreb on April 25 as part of a joint business forum with the support of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Croatia. During the event, Ulbosyn Sarybayeva, the representative of National Company Kazakh Invest, told Croatian businessmen about measures of state support for investments and
The Kazakh Prosecutor-General’s Office said investigators have detained former Interior Minister Erlan Turghymbaev on a charge of abuse of office and power, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. In a statement on April 30, the office said Turghymbaev’s detention was linked to “ongoing investigations into the events that took place in January 2022,” a reference to nationwide demonstrations that were sparked
A Kazakh delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin this week visited Afghanistan to discuss cooperation in regional transport projects. The Kazakh side announced its readiness to participate in projects for the development of the trans-Afghan corridor: the construction of the Termez – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kabul – Peshawar and Herat – Kandahar – Spin
During the official visit of UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to Kazakhstan, a ceremony was held on April 25 to sign two commercial documents. The Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan, the Almaty City Administration, National Company Kazakh Invest, and AstraZeneca signed a Plan for the implementation of an investment project for contract manufacturing of biotechnological
On April 24, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held talks with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, who was in Astana with an official visit. The ministers signed the historic Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between Kazakhstan and the UK that is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations in key
