Articles by Dana Omirgazy 

ASTANA — World No. 5 Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan defeated world No. 2 Iga Swiatek of Poland 7-5, 6-1 in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Jan. 28. The match lasted one hour and 35 minutes. Rybakina served 10 aces, committed three double faults, and converted four of seven break points. This marks Rybakina’s fourth Grand…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan will resume and open 15 international air routes this year, including flights to Vienna, Rome, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Riyadh, as part of a broader plan to improve transport connectivity and support tourism, Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev said at a Jan. 27 government meeting. Currently, 42 domestic routes are in operation, with nine…

ASTANA — An international consortium developing Kazakhstan’s Karachaganak oil and gas field may be required to pay up to $4 billion after losing an arbitration case brought by the Kazakh government, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 26, citing sources familiar with the matter. Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry has not yet confirmed the information. The project is operated…

ASTANA — Almaty Region Akim (Mayor) Marat Sultangaziyev met with a South Korean delegation to discuss Kazakhstan’s possible accession to South Korea’s Employment Permit System (EPS), which allows foreign nationals to work legally in the country. Kazakh Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Victoria Shegai and representatives of local governments also took part in…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan, alongside Brazil, China, France, Jordan, South Africa, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), invited leaders of all states to the High-Level Conference on Humanity in War in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The conference is scheduled for the fourth quarter this year, under the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political…

ASTANA — KazMunayGas (KMG) Chair Askhat Khassenov met with ExxonMobil Senior Vice President Peter Larden on Jan. 26 to review the current status of cooperation and plans for key partnership areas. The talks covered prospects for collaboration in geological exploration, oil transportation and the introduction of innovative production technologies. Under a confidentiality agreement between the…

ASTANA — Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with ExxonMobil Senior Vice President Peter Larden on Jan. 26 to discuss cooperation in the oil and gas industry, including matters related to the joint projects Tengiz, Kashagan and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. During the talks, Bektenov expressed concern over the situation at the Tengiz field, stressing…

Walk through any part of our city, and you will see life everywhere. You will also notice risks that affect everyone: from poorly lit streets to crowded intersections. Keeping our city safe is not just the job of the police; it depends on planning, solid infrastructure, and strong communities. If we ignore these rules, our…

ASTANA – The United Nations University (UNU) released an article on Jan. 20 about the dawn of an era of global water bankruptcy, formally defining a new post-crisis reality for billions. Amid chronic groundwater depletion, water overallocation, land and soil degradation, deforestation, and pollution, all compounded by global heating, a UN report declared that many…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan citizens working illegally in South Korea can voluntarily leave the country without fines or restrictions on re-entry until the end of February, under agreements between Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and South Korea’s Ministry of Justice aimed at protecting citizens’ rights and helping them regularize their status.  To participate in…

ASTANA – The volume of the Northern Aral Sea is planned to increase to 34 cubic kilometers over 4-5 years, and a 191.7 billion tenge (US$377.4 million) hydropower project is being implemented, said Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov at a Jan. 21 government meeting. According to him, established water diplomacy and the…

ASTANA — President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has signed a decree establishing the Commission on Constitutional Reform on Jan. 21.  To develop proposals for constitutional reform, Tokayev has decreed the creation of the commission, approved the attached regulations and their composition, and assigned the Presidential Administration to oversee their implementation. The decree enters into force on the…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Law on Artificial Intelligence entered into force on Jan. 18, establishing a comprehensive legal framework for the development and use of AI while enshrining the priority of individuals, their rights, freedoms, and well-being.  The legislation sets out core principles for AI use, including fairness and equality, transparency and explainability of algorithms, accountability…

ASTANA — The fifth meeting of the working group on parliamentary reform, chaired by State Counselor Erlan Karin, was held on Jan. 15 to review proposals aimed at strengthening the role of the new Parliament in supporting the functioning of key state institutions.  Since October last year, around 600 reform proposals have been submitted by…

ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest highlights Kazakhstan’s perspectives on energy security, a major $300 million investment to upgrade the Middle Corridor rail route, developments in culture, history, and industry, and more. Kazakhstan raises alarm over Black Sea tanker attacks, warning of…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (KMG) rerouted approximately 300,000 tons of oil in December 2025 due to restrictions on Kazakh oil supplies through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), redirecting shipments via alternative export routes using the KazTransOil (KTO) system to Germany, China, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, and the ports of Novorossiysk…

ASTANA — Kazmortransflot, a subsidiary of KazMunayGas(KMG), has reported an increase in container shipping across the Caspian Sea last year, strengthening Kazakhstan’s transit and transport potential. Along the Aktau-Baku-Aktau feeder line, the company transported 59,400 twenty-foot equivalent containers (TEUs), marking more than a 15% growth compared to 51,400 TEUs in 2024, reported KMG on Jan.…

ASTANA – Jewelry production in Kazakhstan rose 41.3% in January-October 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, reaching $4.1 million, driven by domestic gold quotas, VAT incentives, and support for local manufacturers. Imports of jewelry increased 39.6%, reaching $174.7 million, while exports grew 7.3-fold to $54.5 million. Domestic consumption rose 3.2% to $124.3 million,…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan aims to make manufacturing the main driver of economic growth this year, with metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemicals, and construction materials leading the expansion. The government’s economic growth task force held its first meeting of the year on Jan. 13, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin. The…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan is launching the next phase of geological exploration, with 240 billion tenge (US$470 million) to be invested over the next three years to improve geological mapping, expand resource discovery, and attract private investment in the mining and energy sectors. Last year, 20 projects were developed to produce detailed geological maps covering around…

ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration is monitoring the U.S. statements regarding countries with trade ties to Iran and assessing potential scenarios, as details of possible measures and their implementation remain unclear, the ministry said on Jan. 13. “Currently, the details of possible measures and the parameters for their implementation are not yet…

ASTANA — The Central Asia Climate Foundation (CACF) reported on Jan. 12 that, according to the National Report on the State of the Environment and the Use of Natural Resources in Kazakhstan for 2024, the country’s total forest fund exceeded 23 million hectares, accounting for 8.7% of the country’s total land area. From 1991 to…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s economy expanded by 6.5% in 2025 compared with the previous year, according to preliminary data from the Bureau of National Statistics. Growth was driven by strong performance in manufacturing, transportation, construction, and retail sectors. The industrial production index reached 7.4%, with the manufacturing sector growing 6.4%. Key contributors included food production (+8.1%),…

ASTANA — Kazakhstan’s prosecutors secured the state’s economic interests worth more than 1.1 trillion tenge (US$2.1 billion) in 2025 amid ongoing economic reforms, Prosecutor General Berik Assylov wrote on X account on Jan. 12. According to Assylov, prosecutors seized 470 billion tenge (US$920.9 million) in cash and property in cases related to public spending, procurement,…

ASTANA — Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Information has announced the winner of the curatorial competition for the country’s national pavilion at the 61st International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia, which will take place from May 9 to Nov. 22, under the theme In Minor Keys. The selected concept, KONYR: Archive of Silence, was…