Kazakhstan’s Tourism Sector Enters New Growth Phase As Investment And Visitor Numbers Rise
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s tourism sector is entering a new stage of development as investment, visitor numbers and transport connectivity expand, with the industry increasingly positioned as a contributor to economic growth rather than simply a recreational sector. The sector’s total contribution to Kazakhstan’s economy reached 5 trillion tenge (US$9.26 billion) in 2025, while employment exceeded…
Kazakhstan Eases Stock Market Access, But Liquidity Remains Key Challenge, Expert Says
ALMATY – Kazakhstan plans to shorten the preparation of initial public offerings by up to five months and reduce the full cycle of bond issuance to as little as one to two months, but market participants say faster procedures alone may not attract more companies to the stock market. The deeper challenge, they note, is…
Kazakhstan Wins 18 Medals At World Nomad Games In Kyrgyz Republic
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national team has won 18 medals at the sixth World Nomad Games currently underway in the Kyrgyz Republic, including six gold, one silver and 11 bronze medals, reported the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Kazakh athletes have reached the podium across several traditional sports, including horse-based competitions, traditional wrestling, strength disciplines and…
Kazakhstan Signs Contract For Construction Of First Nuclear Power Plant
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has signed a contract to design, supply and build its first nuclear power plant, moving the long-planned project into a new practical phase as the country seeks to strengthen energy security and prepare for growing electricity demand. The contract was signed between Kazakhstan Nuclear Power Plants and Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Russia’s…
UN Declares April 22 International Day of Planet Greening at Kazakhstan’s Initiative
ASTANA – The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a Kazakhstan-initiated resolution proclaiming April 22 as the International Day of Greening the Planet, marking another step in Kazakhstan’s efforts to promote global environmental cooperation. The resolution was adopted in New York on Aug. 31. The initiative was first proposed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the…
Samruk Kazyna Posts Strong Financial Results, Increases Support for Domestic Producers
ASTANA – Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund reported financial results above its targets for the first seven months of 2026, while increasing procurement from domestic producers as the fund seeks to strengthen the role of local companies in its supply chains. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov chaired a meeting of the Samruk Kazyna Board of Directors…
Kazakhstan Expands Air Connectivity as New Routes, Digital Border Controls Reshape Travel
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is expanding its international air connectivity while investing in digital technologies designed to make border and aviation services faster, signaling a broader effort to strengthen the country’s position as a regional transport and travel hub. The latest measures range from a significant increase in permitted flights between Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia to…
Kazakhstan’s Transport Sector Is Diversifying as Growth Moderates, Experts Say
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s transport sector maintained positive growth in January-July 2026, with the physical volume of transport and warehousing services increasing 7.4% year on year, down from 22.5% a year earlier. The slower pace of expansion, alongside diverging trends across transport modes, may signal a gradual shift in the structure of the country’s logistics system,…
Tokayev to Convene First Session of Kazakhstan’s Kurultai on Aug. 28
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree convening the first session of Kazakhstan’s elected Kurultai, the country’s new unicameral legislature, for Aug. 28 at 11 a.m., according to the Akorda press service. The session will mark the start of work for the 145-member Kurultai, established under Kazakhstan’s new Constitution, which took effect on…
Kazakhstan Judo Team Wins Historic Mixed Team Gold at World Championships
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national judo team secured its first-ever gold medal in the mixed team event at the World Judo Championships among cadets in Guayaquil, Ecuador, marking a historic achievement for the country’s judo programme. The team title capped a record-breaking individual campaign, with Kazakh judokas winning 11 medals – four gold, three silver and…
Kazakhstan’s First Kurultai Election Concludes With Preliminary Voter Turnout at 74.19%
ASTANA – Voting in Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai concluded at all polling stations across the country at 8 p.m. on Aug. 23, with 9,352,151 voters, or 74.19% of those registered, having received ballots, according to preliminary voter turnout data from the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations have now closed nationwide, and precinct…
Tokayev Says Vice President Appointment Expected Within 10 Days
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the new Vice President is expected to be appointed within the next week or 10 days, speaking to media representatives after casting his ballot in the country’s first elections to the Kurultai on Aug. 23. Responding to questions about the reforms and the changes expected after the Kurultai and…
Kazakhstan Opens More Than 10,000 Polling Stations for First Kurultai Election
ALMATY – Kazakhstan opened 10,363 polling stations across the country on Aug. 23 for Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC). Polling stations began operating at 7 a.m. Astana time, while 107 of them opened earlier at 6 a.m. based on decisions by territorial election commissions. In total, 12,605,788…
What Kazakhstan’s Final Kurultai Debate Revealed About Party Competition
ALMATY – The final Aug. 19 televised debate before Kazakhstan’s Aug. 23 Kurultai elections showed that the country’s seven political parties are entering the vote with competing policy priorities. Still, voters largely share an understanding of the main concerns, shifting the campaign debate from identifying problems to competing over who offers the most convincing solutions.…
Kazakhstan’s Industrial Growth Reveals Diverging Paths for Manufacturing and Mining
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s economy continued to expand in the first seven months of 2026, with investment and manufacturing providing an important source of growth even as mining output declined and exports remained heavily dependent on raw materials. New data from the Bureau of National Statistics points to a mixed but potentially significant economic pattern. Industrial…
Kazakhstan’s Oil Sector Stumbles, but Export Revenues Tell Different Story
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s oil sector experienced a period of lower production in the first seven months of 2026, with production falling 8.9% to 53.2 million tons amid disruptions at the Tengiz field and the country’s main export route through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC). Yet the decline in production has not translated into a comparable…
Kazakhstan’s Wildlife Recovery Expands From Protection to Reintroduction
ALMATY – Kazakhstan is reporting continued growth in several rare ungulate populations while expanding programs to return animals that disappeared from parts of the country to their natural habitats. From Przewalski’s horses and kulans to the recent release of a tiger into the wild, conservation policy is moving beyond protecting surviving wildlife toward rebuilding populations…
Air Astana Extends Dubai Flight Cancellations Through Sept. 30
ALMATY – Air Astana has extended the cancellation of flights to Dubai from Almaty and Astana through Sept. 30 due to the continuing unstable situation in the Persian Gulf region. The airline said its flight schedule for October has also been adjusted, with the frequency of flights on these routes reduced. Passengers affected by the…
Astana Finance Days 2026 to Bring Global Investors and Financial Leaders to Kazakhstan
ALMATY – More than 5,500 participants from over 80 countries are expected to gather in Kazakhstan’s capital on Sept. 9-10 for the ninth Astana Finance Days (AFD) 2026 forum, hosted by the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The forum will bring together investors, representatives of the financial and technology sectors, regulators, government and quasi-state institutions,…
How Kazakhstan’s First Released Tiger Adapts to Life in Wild
ALMATY – Umit, the female Amur tiger released into the wild in Kazakhstan’s Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve on July 31, is continuing to explore the region’s forests and habitats near water as specialists monitor her adaptation to life in the wild. According to the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural…
Data Center Valley Is More Than AI: It’s Kazakhstan’s Economic Diversification Bet
ALMATY – Kazakhstan is advancing construction of the Data Center Valley in the Pavlodar Region, a large-scale computing infrastructure project intended to support artificial intelligence development, attract international technology companies and create a new export-oriented segment of the digital economy, as Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov reviewed progress on Aug. 13. The first facility, with a…
From Grain to Value Chains: Kazakhstan Seeks to Transform Its Agricultural Export Model
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has nearly doubled its agricultural exports over the past five years, reaching $7 billion in 2025 from $3.8 billion, according to an analysis published by the World Financial Review. The growth has strengthened Kazakhstan’s role as a food supplier to Central Asia and beyond. Still, it raises a broader question about the…
Experts: As Inflation Falls, Kazakhstan Faces New Monetary Policy Trade-Off
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s annual inflation slowed to 10.2% in July, extending its decline for a tenth consecutive month, while lending is increasingly shifting from consumer borrowing toward business financing, according to National Bank (NBK) Governor Timur Suleimenov’s report to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Aug. 13. The figures point to a changing balance in Kazakhstan’s economy.…
Kazakhstan Powers Central Asia’s Economy, But Can Its Weight Drive Regional Growth?
ALMATY – Central Asia’s combined economy has surpassed half a trillion US dollars, reaching an estimated $543 billion, with Kazakhstan accounting for more than half of the region’s gross domestic product, according to figures compiled by The Times of Central Asia. Kazakhstan’s economy is estimated at $306 billion, representing nearly 56% of the combined GDP…
One Sea, Five Countries, Two Futures: Caspian Sea’s Next Test
ALMATY – Caspian Sea Day is being marked on Aug. 12, the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of the Tehran Convention, the main regional agreement on protecting the Caspian Sea’s marine environment, as environmental concerns over declining water levels and the future of the world’s largest enclosed body of water continue to grow.…
