Kazakhstan is making progress with the restoration of the North Aral Sea, an ambitious project initiated in response to the catastrophic shrinkage of the Aral Sea. During the next 4-5 years, the water volume in the North Aral is to be increased to 34 cubic kilometers and its area expanded to 3,913 square kilometers, Minister
On January 22 in the Swiss city of Davos, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed the Charter of the Board of Peace, initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump. The charter was also signed by heads of state, prime ministers, and foreign ministers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Indonesia, Jordan,
A new report shows that despite the ongoing efforts to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in all spheres of life, Central Asian countries still lag significantly behind the world leaders in AI adoption. Kazakhstan is Central Asia’s leader in AI use, ranking 72nd among 147 countries, with 13.7% of the working age population
In 2026, KazMunayGas-Aero LLP, an aviation fuel supply subdivision of national oil and gas company KazMunayGas, has begun “into plane” aircraft refueling at airports in Almaty and Astana. The Ministry of Transport has provided KazMunayGas-Aero with direct access to the infrastructure of Kazakhstan’s airports, including regional ones. The company plans to increase the scope of direct
Kazakhstan’s Cybernet AI startup has unveiled an automatic speech recognition (ASR) model for Turkic languages. This is the first-ever AI model designed specifically for the Turkic language group, not adapted from existing English-language solutions, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The project was implemented with the support of the Astana
Kazakhstan registered 4,400 new companies or branches with foreign participation in 2025, driven primarily by businesses from China and Uzbekistan, Kursiv reported citing data from Kazakhstan’s Bureau of National Statistics. As of January 1, 2026, Kazakhstan had about 63,900 legal entities and branches with foreign participation. Among countries that opened more businesses or joint ventures
China-Central Asia economic and trade cooperation made considerable progress in 2025, with the total value of trade in goods reaching $106.3 billion, an increase of 12% compared to the previous year, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. The trade volume between China and Central Asia exceeded the $100-billion mark for the
The Innovative Center for the Development of Unmanned Aviation has officially opened at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) in Almaty. The project is a collaboration between KazNU and Aerial Solutions LLP. The new center will focus on domestic development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), establish training and production laboratories and a test site,
The first cross-Caspian Sea China-Central Asia freight train from north China’s Tianjin Municipality to Baku, Azerbaijan, departed on January 19, carrying goods such as stainless steel pipes and household appliances, Xinhua reported. The train, operated by China Railway Beijing Group, will leave China via Khorgos Port in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, traverse Kazakhstan,
The demand for workforce in Kazakhstan significantly exceeded supply at the end of 2025. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, in December, employers posted 109,600 job vacancies on the Enbek.kz online job exchange, while job seekers submitted 71,500 resumes. Compared to November, the number of job openings increased by 8.4% (+8,500), while
The National Research Center for Infectious Diseases (NRCID) was officially opened in Almaty on January 16. It is a key facility established on the instruction of the Head of State to strengthen the country’s biological security system. The establishment of the Center became a systemic response to the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and
Kazakhstan’s state-owned railway operator, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), has secured up to $300 million equivalent in Swiss-franc-denominated financing from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Standard Chartered (SC) for a project aimed at strengthening Kazakhstan’s rail efficiency and increasing its role as a regional transit hub, according to IFC.
This year Kazakhstan will continue diversifying its agricultural crop areas to reduce its reliance on wheat monoculture and expand the area under highly profitable crops for processing into products with higher added value. At a government meeting on January 13, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Azat Sultanov announced that in 2026, the total area under crops
To expand the coverage of geological exploration of the country’s territory using modern geological prospecting methods, the Government of Kazakhstan is launching a new stage of subsoil research this year at a more detailed scale. Twenty projects were developed last year to carry out geological surveying at a scale of 1:50,000 over a total area
In 2025, Kazakhstan’s automotive industry demonstrated its best performance ever. The country produced 171,144 vehicles of all types (passenger cars, buses, and trucks), a 17.8% increase compared to the previous year (145,290), according to the Kazakhstan Automobile Union. Passenger cars traditionally dominated the production, with 158,944 vehicles manufactured in 2025, up 19%. Production of commercial
Kazakhstan ranks fourth in terms of the number of enterprises with foreign capital in Uzbekistan, following China, Russia, and Turkiye, Dunyo information agency reported citing data from the Uzbek National Statistics Committee. As of December 1, 2025, 1,199 enterprises with Kazakh capital were operating in Uzbekistan. The majority of Kazakh-invested enterprises are concentrated in trade,
In 2025, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), the national railway company, transported for export 11 million tons of grain, a record high volume over the past 10 years and a 33% increase compared to 2024, according to KTZ. Grain export transportation to Central Asian countries increased by 30%, reaching 6.3 million tons. Exports to Kyrgyzstan
A new investment attraction mechanism, the “Availability Payment,” has been introduced in Kazakhstan to accelerate the development of industrial zones and create sustainable conditions for the long-term presence of investors. The pilot project is being implemented in West Kazakhstan Region on the territory of the Eurasia Cross-Border Trade Center industrial zone, where 17 investment projects with the participation of foreign investors are
Saltanat Khamzeeva is a remarkable woman who has successfully merged a creative nature with a practical mindset. During a difficult period of her life, it was precisely this combination—talent, inner discipline, and marketing intuition—that helped her not only find her footing and confidence but also forge a path that today allows her to support other
In 2026, Kazakhstan has assumed the chairmanship of the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry (TCCI). The role was held by Azerbaijan last year. The transition of the chairmanship took place during the 3rd General Assembly of the TCCI, held on January 8 in Astana. This shift coincided with a period of steady
