According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, over the past five years, Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports have grown by 51%, reaching $5.1 billion in 2024. The geography of exports covers 66 countries. The main sales markets remain the neighboring countries of Central Asia, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia), as well as
On March 18, Kazakhstan’s capital hosted the first meeting of the Association of Investors of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states. The founding meeting was attended by representatives of government agencies, as well as more than 20 investment agencies and funds of the SCO member states, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry reported. The participants of
On March 17, as part of his official visit to Japan, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu held a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Takeshi Iwaya. The parties discussed key issues of enhancing political dialogue, as well as deepening trade, economic, investment, and cultural ties. The
Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has signed a Comprehensive Development Plan for the Shchuchinsk-Borovoye resort area for 2025–2029. The Shchuchinsk-Borovoye area (Burabay National Park) is one of the country’s most popular year-round resorts, located in the north of Kazakhstan, 250 kilometers north of the capital, Astana. Borovoye is the commonly used Russian name of the
A presentation of the new 54th issue of OCA Magazine was held in London on March 8th as a part of the Navruz celebration. The event brought together representatives of creative professions and diplomats from the embassies of Central Asian countries. The new issue of the magazine focuses on the economic issues of the region
During the March 13 visit of European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela, the European Union and Kazakhstan have taken important steps to deepen their cooperation under the Global Gateway strategy by signing key agreements to support sustainable economic growth and regional connectivity, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan reported.
A series of meetings took place last week between Gabidulla Ospankulov, Chairman of the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, and Marat Birimzhan, the overseas representative of the Kazakh Invest National Company, with the leadership of major U.S. companies specializing in technological solutions, industry, healthcare, and energy. The discussions focused on
A delegation of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) met with representatives of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) at the IRENA headquarters in Abu Dhabi on March 11. During the meeting, the organizations discussed cooperation in the development of renewable energy in Central Asia within the framework of two platforms – IRENAClimate Investment Platform (CIP) and IRENA Energy Transition Accelerator
Between 12 and 18 March, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela will visit the five Central Asian countries to strengthen the EU-Central Asia partnership ahead of the EU-Central Asia Summit and scale up Global Gateway, the EU’s investment strategy to boost jobs and sustainable economic growth, the Delegation of the European Union to Turkmenistan announced. Commissioner Síkela said: “Central
The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan have signed an agreement to launch a new joint initiative worth $2 million to enhance flood resilience and strengthening dam safety in Kazakhstan. The new project will be implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan under
Since the presidency of Nursultan Nazarbayev, official propaganda has maintained that Kazakhstan is Central Asia’s leader in terms of economic development, social sphere, and attraction of foreign investment. But it looks like it is no longer the case, Amirzhan Kosanov, a member of the Public Chamber of the Mazhilis (the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament),
In the following article published in the latest issue of OCA Magazine, the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Nick Rowan, analyzes the investment landscape and offers forecasts for the future state of investment in Central Asia and the CIS: Things are moving fast in Central Asia and the former Soviet Union (CIS) countries. The investment landscape has undergone
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan and Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan with financial support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), is launching a project aimed at supporting the resilience of agricultural production and conserving ecosystems
Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Japan Yerlan Baudarbek-Kozhatayev on March 5 held a meeting with Hiromasa Nakano, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan. The Ambassador introduced the current status and prospects of the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR or Middle Corridor) as one of the key multimodal transit corridors connecting
In 2025, Kazakhstan plans to build 1,953 km of irrigation canals to provide water to 256,000 hectares of farmland, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov announced at a government meeting on March 4. This year, as part of the first phase of the Water Resources Management Program for 2024-2030, the Ministry of Water
On 4-6 March, the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10), which is funded by the European Union (EU), successfully conducted a regional workshop “Women for Development of Central Asian Border Regions” in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. This initiative underscores the EU’s commitment to enhancing gender equality and empowering female professionals within state agencies across Central Asia,
The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted a resolution on the establishment of the UN Regional Centre for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Central Asia and Afghanistan. The document was initiated by Kazakhstan on behalf of the Central Asian states. 152 UN member states supported the resolution as co-sponsors, which underlines the high significance of
KTZ Express, a subsidiary of Kazakhstan’s national railway company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ), and major Chinese operator Yiwu Timex have discussed expanding cooperation in the field of international transportation with a focus on the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR) and new logistics services for deliveries to Central Asian countries, the KTZ press
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recently hosted the final event of the “Drops of the Future” workshop series. The event brought together young leaders, experts, and key stakeholders from Central Asia and beyond to explore collaborative and consensus-driven approaches to finding sustainable solutions for water, energy and food systems. The goal was
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov last week met with Zeng Zhaoqiang, the Chairman of the Board of Fujian Hengwang Investment Co., Ltd, one of the leading metallurgical companies in China. The meeting discussed the construction of a metallurgical plant with a capacity of 3 million tons of steel on the territory of the special
