Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on April 15 signed into law amendments and additions to legislative acts and the code on administrative offenses to ensure the rights of women and the safety of children. The amendments were passed by Kazakhstan’s parliament on April 11. The new legislation introduces criminal liability for beatings and intentional infliction of
On April 15, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visited Armenia and held negotiations in Yerevan with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Speaking to journalists after the talks, Tokayev said it was his first official visit to Yerevan and emphasized that Armenia is a very important and reliable partner of Kazakhstan in the South Caucasus. “Our
On April 15, the Second Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Strategic Dialogue “Central Asia – Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf” was held in Tashkent under the chairmanship of the Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov. The event was attended by the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed
Kyrgyzstan is sending the second batch of humanitarian aid to neighboring Kazakhstan suffering from unprecedented spring floods, 24.kg news agency reported with reference to the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan. The new humanitarian cargo consists of Kyrgyzstan-made dairy products — 10 thousand liters of kefir, 14.2 thousand packs of sour cream, 10 thousand liters
On April 11, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov held a meeting of the national headquarters for the response to unprecedented spring floods in the country’s northern regions, with the main focus on the northwestern regions, where a second wave of floods is expected. Large volumes of water caused by the rapid spring snowmelt are
Another lawmaker in Russia has made remarks concerning Kazakhstan, which might create tension between the two countries, Orda.kz reports. In a comment to the Russian National News Service, Mikhail Delyagin, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, said that long delays in processing money transfers from Russia to Kazakhstan are “sabotage by
Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon called the current global situation “a new phase of the Cold War” and called on his compatriots to be politically vigilant amid “growing tensions as the process of the world’s repartitioning is intensifying,” RFE/RL reported. “In these difficult and dangerous circumstances, we should not let our citizens, our children, turn into
On April 8, a caravan of 15 trucks with 300 tons of humanitarian aid from Kyrgyzstan arrived in the city of Aktobe in Kazakhstan, where the convoy has been divided between four regions of Kazakhstan hit by unprecedented spring floods, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Emergency Situations reported. Three trucks with humanitarian cargo headed to the
The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, Akylbek Japarov on April 4 announced that Kyrgyzstan will provide humanitarian aid to neighboring Kazakhstan in response to unprecedented floods caused by abrupt warm weather that led to a mass snowmelt. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations has reported that almost 19 thousand people have been evacuated
Kyrgyzstan’s Elkart Interbank Processing Center said that the Central Asian country’s banks will stop processing transactions with Russian Mir payment cards as of April 5 due to Western sanctions imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, RFE/RL reported. Last week, another former Soviet republic, Armenia, announced a similar move. In September 2022, the U.S.
One of Kyrgyzstan’s first online news websites, 24.kg, reported on April 3 that the State Committee for National Security has suspended a criminal case against it. RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported that the State Committee for National Security launched the case — which came amid a government crackdown on civil society and free media — against
Kazakhstan intends to sign an agreement with Kyrgyzstan on deepening and expanding allied relations. The draft decree of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev “On the signing of an agreement on deepening and expanding allied relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic” was published on the Open Regulatory Legal Acts portal. The
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Emergency Minister Bauyrzhan Syzdyqov said on April 2 that more than 15,700 people, including almost 6,200 children, have been evacuated across the nation amid unprecedented floods caused by abrupt warm weather that led to a mass snowmelt, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported. Syzdyqov said the situation remains “complicated” in several regions, where flood waters continue to
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has signed into law a controversial bill that allows authorities to register organizations as “foreign representatives,” legislation critics say mirrors a repressive Russian law on “foreign agents,” RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. Japarov said in an April 2 post on Facebook that the law will “regulate” the activities of nongovernmental organizations receiving financial support from abroad
During his official visit to China, Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on March 30 held meetings with the leadership of major Chinese companies, and discussed plans for the implementation of joint investment projects in Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. Chinese businessmen were acquainted with the economic reforms being implemented
Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on March 28 attended the opening ceremony of the plenary session of the Boao Forum for Asia, held annually in Hainan Province, China. This year’s 23rd edition of the Forum was themed “Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared Responsibilities”. The President of Kazakhstan spoke at the forum as a guest
Deputy Prime Minister–Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on March 26 visited Washington and held a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the dynamic development of the enhanced strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States across a wide range of political, trade, economic and humanitarian spheres, the
Raimbek Matraimov, the former deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan’s Customs Service, was placed in pretrial detention for at least one month on March 27, a day after being extradited from Azerbaijan, RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service reported. The Birinchi Mai district court in Bishkek ruled that Matraimov must stay in the detention center of the State Committee for National Security
The death toll of the March 22 attack on a Moscow concert venue claimed by the Islamic State (IS) militant group has reached 133 and Russian security officials said four suspected gunmen had been detained in connection with Russia’s worst terrorist violence in nearly two decades, RFE/RL’s Russian Service reported. Russian officials said the suspects
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