Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana lags behind Almaty, the country’s largest city in terms of key development aspects, Energyprom.kz reports with reference to the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2025. Astana is on the 276th position among a thousand cities in the ranking, and Almaty ranks 258th. Astana is behind Almaty in such categories as the quality
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the Akimat of Kyzylorda Region, and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) organized the First National Urban Forum of Kazakhstan (NUF2025) in Kyzylorda on July 8. The event brought together representatives of central and local government bodies, international organizations, the expert community, and the private sector. Held
Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu represented for the first time Kazakhstan as a partner country at the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro on July 6. The opening day of the Summit was attended by heads of state and government, high-level representatives of BRICS member and partner
In the first quarter of 2025, there were 160,400 households in Kazakhstan with incomes below the subsistence level, 0.1% less than a year earlier. These households included 924,400 people, compared to 928,100 a year earlier, according to an analysis of finprom.kz. In terms of regions, the largest number of families with incomes below the subsistence
Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Erlan Nysanbayev, has announced the government’s decision to begin controlling the rapidly expanding population of the saiga antelope in the country. The announcement was made following a June 28 meeting of the minister with farmers in the West Kazakhstan region, who complained about the catastrophic damage to agricultural
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), a supranational financial institution headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, issued a private placement bond, denominated in dirham, in the local UAE capital markets. This pioneering issuance of AED 200 million (equivalent to c. US$54 million), was arranged by First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the largest bank in the UAE, in partnership with
A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Azamat Kozhanov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakh Invest national company, and Maria Perez, Kazakhstan Project Director of the international business publication The Business Year. The agreement outlines cooperation on the upcoming edition The Business Year: Kazakhstan 2026, focused on Kazakhstan’s investment potential. In line with the
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and Asian Credit Fund (ACF), one of the leading microfinance institutions in Kazakhstan, announced a new strategic partnership aimed at expanding access to finance for micro enterprises in rural areas of Kazakhstan. This collaboration is expected to foster financial inclusion, create jobs, and
Construction of a plant for the collection, transshipment and fractionation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from the Kashagan oil field has begun in Kazakhstan’s Atyrau region. The project is aimed at ensuring stable supplies of LPG to the domestic market and reducing chronic shortages of this type of motor fuel. LPG is the most affordable
One of Turkey’s leading logistics companies, S Sistem Lojistik, plans to invest approximately $100 million in the construction of a network of modern logistics and warehouse terminals in Kazakhstan. Priority locations for these facilities include Almaty, Astana, Shymkent, Aktau, and other major cities. The project was discussed in Astana on June 27 by Chairman of
As a follow-up to the agreements reached during the visit of Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu to India, a meeting was held on June 26 at Kazakh Invest national company with the leadership of one of India’s leading pharmaceutical companies, MSN Group. During the negotiations, Chairman of the
Zhanseit Tuimebayev is a distinguished statesman of the Republic of Kazakhstan, an esteemed diplomat, scholar, Doctor of Philological Sciences, professor, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. In his role as Chairman of the Board – Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University he has the responsibility of guiding this world-class research university through the challenges of modern
As part of his official visit to Mongolia, on June 26 Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu met with the country’s Minister of Roads and Transport, Borkhuu Delgersaikhan. The parties emphasized the importance of deepening Kazakh-Mongolian cooperation in the field of transport and logistics. The close geographical interconnectedness of
On June 24 in Astana, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Gabidulla Ospankulov signed an investment contract with Alexander Blumhardt, Authorized Representative for CIS Countries at Knauf’s Managing Partners. The project involves building a modern plant using local raw materials, with a total investment of 30.5 million US dollars
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has published its annual World Investment Report 2025, highlighting an 11% decline in global foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to $1.5 trillion. The drop was particularly severe in developing and landlocked countries, Kazakh Invest reported. According to UNCTAD, Kazakhstan has attracted over $151 billion in net FDI since gaining independence, making
Kazakhstan will establish the country’s first science city, Tekhnokala. It will enjoy a special status and be home to advanced technologies and scientific institutions, universities, and tech businesses, the government’s website reported. The concept of the future science city was discussed at a government meeting on June 20, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of National
The 2025 Central Asia–China Furniture and Construction Industry Cooperation Forum was held in Astana last week. As part of the forum, a founding ceremony was held for the Association of Furniture and Building Materials Manufacturers of Central Asia and China. The event brought together around 100 business representatives from China and countries of the region,
A transit container train with Kazakh wheat has arrived in the Chinese port of Lianyungang. This is the first of eight trains loaded with wheat destined for Vietnam and shipped via a multimodal route through China. According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, the train consists of 62 containers weighing a total of 1,700 tons.
The QS World University Rankings 2026 have been published, with 20 Kazakhstani universities featured – a testament to the rising quality of higher education in the country. New entrants include Shakhmardan Yessenov Caspian University of Technology and Engineering, M. Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University, and Shakarim University of Semey, according to the Kazakh Ministry of Science
Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 17 called on China and Central Asian countries to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and forge ahead toward the goal of building a China-Central Asia community with a shared future, Xinhua reported. Xi made the remarks in his keynote speech at the second China-Central Asia Summit in Astana
