Kazakh officials have confirmed the conviction of a nephew of former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who lost his influence on the country’s political scene after deadly, unprecedented anti-government protests in January 2022, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The Astana City Court told RFE/RL on March 20 that Samat Abish was convicted of abuse of power and handed a suspended
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov on March 18 held a meeting on the implementation of instructions of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to improve the quality of life in the country, announced at the third meeting of the National Kurultai (Congress) on March 15. On the issue of repair and modernisation of the
The Governments of the United States, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan joined private sector representatives in the inaugural B5+1 Forum in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from March 13-15. Announced by President Biden during the inaugural C5+1 Summit in September 2023 and highlighted in the corresponding New York Declaration, the B5+1 is the private-sector-led counterpart
Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce has announced that it has agreed with Kazakhstan not to introduce restrictions and bans on products licensed in Kyrgyzstan. Kazinform information agency recently reported that Kazakhstan planned to introduce a ban on some products licensed in Kyrgyzstan from July 1, 2024. According to the Committee for Technical Regulation and
On March 11, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Azerbaijan on a state visit. In Baku, Tokayev held talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. The two leaders also participated in the first meeting of the Interstate Council of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Tokayev and Aliyev also took part via a teleconference in the ceremony of
Reports about the existence of Pentagon biological laboratories in Kazakhstan are untrue, says Zauresh Zhumadilova, director general of the National Scientific Center of Especially Dangerous Infections under the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan, as reported by KazTAG information agency. “There are no American biological laboratories in Kazakhstan. All our laboratories are Kazakhstan’s own. They are
On February 29, in the Chinese city of Chongqing, Kazakhstan’s national railways company KTZ and the logistics platform Yuxinou (Chongqing) Logistics Co., Ltd signed an agreement on the organization and dispatch of 200 container trains through Kazakhstan, including along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, with a cargo volume of more than 20 thousand 20-foot equivalent
Earlier this month, Tajik migrant workers in the Russian city of Samara were scared after Sunatullo Nazriev, the leader of the local Tajik diaspora, called on Tajiks who have Russian citizenship and those who want to get Russian passports in an expedited way to join Russia’s armed forces fighting in Ukraine. According to the migrant
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said his country has frozen its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) as Yerevan continues to distance itself from Moscow amid a souring of bilateral relations, RFE/RL’s Armenian Service reported. Pashinian said in an interview with France 24 television channel on February 22 that the move comes after
The Kyrgyz Central Election Commission on February 22 annulled the mandates of lawmakers Iskender Matraimov and Nurlan Rajabaliev at their own requests, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The former is a brother and the latter a close associate of the former deputy chief of the Customs Service, Raimbek Matraimov, who was added to the wanted list
Members of Kazakh parliament’s lower chamber, the Mazhilis, on February 21, approved the first reading of a bill that would allow life imprisonment for individuals convicted of pedophilia and/or the murder of children, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. The bill comes after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered in his address to the nation in September 2023 that
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on February 20 received the newly appointed Special Representative of the UN Secretary General–Head of the UN Regional Center for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia (UNRCCA) Kakha Imnadze, who arrived in Kazakhstan as part of his tour of the Central Asian countries, the Kazakh
Being close neighbors with centuries-long ties and common roots, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan continue to deepen their relationship, setting a good example for regional cooperation. Both countries are close trade and economic partners as part of the Eurasian Economic Union, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, and Russia. From January-November 2023, bilateral trade grew by 12% and reached
The recent summoning of the Uzbek ambassador to Russia over remarks made by the rector of the University of Journalism in Tashkent highlights the escalating tensions surrounding language politics in the region. Sherzod Qudratxoja’s statement labeling Uzbek citizens who speak Russian but not Uzbek as “occupiers or idiots” has sparked a diplomatic outcry from Russia,
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent economic sanctions imposed by the west have underlined the urgency of finding alternative trade routes between Europe and Asia that do not pass through Russia. In the new geopolitical realities, Kazakhstan has a good chance to become the main and most sustainable transit route between Europe and Asia. In
During his official visit to Qatar on February 14, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held talks with Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and participated in the Kazakhstan–Qatar Investment Roundtable in Doha. During his talks with the Amir of Qatar, Tokayev expressed his firm belief that in the near future Qatar will become one
Kyrgyzstan has published the text of a letter by President Sadyr Japarov to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in which the Central Asian nation’s leader accused the United States of interfering in his country’s internal affairs, RFE/RL reported. On February 9, the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry said minister Jeenbek Kulubaev met with the U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan
On February 9, the new Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, held a Government meeting on the implementation of instructions of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced at an expanded Government session on February 7. Bektenov emphasized that state budget expenditures must be clearly prioritized with an emphasis on obtaining full economic returns, and
The recent developments in Kazakhstan, with the appointment of Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and the subsequent meeting chaired by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signal a proactive stance towards addressing economic challenges. President Tokayev’s emphasis on achieving a GDP growth target of 6% annually and increasing the economy to $450 billion by 2029 demonstrates a commitment to
One day after appointing a new prime minister, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on February 7 chaired an extended meeting of the Government. The meeting was attended by the new Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, Government ministers, the chairman of the National Bank, governors of the regions, and mayors of the country’s three largest cities of Astana,
