The Astana Times
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#Kazakhstan's premiere English language newspaper. Est. Nov. 2010. #news, #politics, #business, #culture, #sports, #kz.
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South Korea’s Universities Open New Opportunities for Kazakh Students
Editor’s note: This article is published as part of a partnership agreement between The Astana Times and The Korea Times. A special series seeks to provide readers with in-depth insights into the opportunities, challenges, and trends linking our two countries.

ASTANA – More Kazakh students are looking to South Korea as a…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120228
Kazakhstan’s Web3 Ecosystem Enters Global Top 10 as Regulated Crypto Market Tops $10 Billion
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s regulated cryptocurrency market surpassed $10 billion in trading turnover in 2025, while the country ranked among the world’s top 10 by the number of applications to international Solana hackathons, highlighting the rapid development of its Web3 ecosystem.

Photo credit: Inbusiness.kz

The regulated crypto market reached $10.58 billion in 2025, up from…
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Kazakhstan Plans to Launch Driverless Taxi Service in 2027
ASTANA – Kazakhstan plans to introduce a driverless taxi service in 2027, with an autonomous vehicle already undergoing testing in Almaty and a pilot project underway in three cities.

Photo credit: Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The first driverless vehicle is currently being tested in Almaty, where it is collecting data…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120267
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Who Will Pay for Processing Kazakhstan’s Copper?
The new methodology for calculating copper concentrate processing tariffs raises a broader question: how competitive and predictable will Kazakhstan’s copper value chain be for international business?

Kazakhstan is seeking to develop domestic processing and create more value within the country. This is particularly important for copper, as the country has a significant resource base…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120277
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Dimash Qudaibergen Joins Kazakhstan’s Reading Nation Marathon
ASTANA – Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen has joined the nationwide Reading Nation marathon in its Parasat category, a non-competitive initiative that promotes reading through the personal example of public figures. Unlike participants in the competitive stages, those in Parasat do not compete for cash prizes; the category focuses instead on promoting a culture of…
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Astana and Almaty Enter Global Top 300 Cities, Stand Out for Human Capital
ASTANA – Astana and Almaty have placed among the world’s 300 highest-ranked cities in the 2026 Global Cities Index by Oxford Economics, with both Kazakhstan’s major urban centers showing their strongest performance in human capital. Almaty ranked 265th globally and Astana 281st among 1,000 cities assessed by the international economic research firm.

Photo credit:…
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Kazakhstan Expands Digital Road Safety Measures as Astana Traffic Grows
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is expanding artificial intelligence, automated traffic enforcement and average-speed monitoring as road safety indicators improve, while rapidly growing vehicle numbers are driving the development of smart transport systems in Astana.

Photo credit: techfinitive.com

Road safety indicators improve

At a Sept. 22 government meeting, Minister of Internal Affairs Yerzhan Sadenov reported…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120275
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Kazakhstan Hotels Receive MICHELIN Keys for First Time
ASTANA – Kazakhstan has been included in the MICHELIN Guide’s global hotel selection for the first time, with five hotels receiving the prestigious One MICHELIN Key distinction and nine others entering the guide’s recommended hotel selection.

The Veil Hotel. Photo credit:trip.com

The MICHELIN Guide has unveiled its MICHELIN Key Selection 2026, a global selection…
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The monobreed exhibition and breeding evaluation took place on Sept. 19 in Astana as part of an international all-breed dog exhibition.

The event highlights the importance of expert assessment following the Fédération Cynologique Internationale’s (FCI) provisional recognition of the Kazakh tazy in 2024 and its designation of Kazakhstan as the breed’s country of origin. This recognition integrated the breed into the international canine system and strengthened Kazakhstan’s role in preserving its defining characteristics.
Kazakhstan, UK Seek to Deepen Trade Through Higher-Value Exports and Mineral Processing
ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom are seeking to build on rapidly growing bilateral trade by expanding Kazakh exports beyond raw materials and deepening cooperation in mineral processing and higher-value production.

Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev meets with UK Trade Envoy Lord John Alderdice. Photo credit: Ministry of Trade and…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120301
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Kazakhstan to Auction Rights to 56 Hydrocarbon Subsoil Blocks
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry will hold an electronic auction for the right to use 56 hydrocarbon subsoil blocks, with most lots offered for exploration and production as the country seeks to attract investment into its oil and gas resource base.

Photo credit:dknews.kz

The auction is scheduled for Dec. 25 on the e-Qazyna platform.…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120297
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Kazakhstan’s Banks Dominate First Fintech Wave, But Infrastructure is Driving Next
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s largest banks have come to dominate one of Central Asia’s most digital consumer finance markets, leaving less room for independent fintech startups and pushing the sector’s next phase of growth toward open banking, embedded finance and shared financial infrastructure, according to a new industry report.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Fintech in Kazakhstan…
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Kazakhstan’s AI Month to Bring Hackathons, Investment Summits and Tech Forums Across Country
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s AI MONTH 2026 program opens Sept. 23 with a $1.1 million HackAlem AI hackathon, launching a month-long series of events focused on artificial intelligence, digital technologies, investment, cybersecurity, robotics and technological entrepreneurship across the country.

Photo credit: Shutterstock.

Held as part of Kazakhstan’s Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, AI MONTH…
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Kazakhstan, UK Discuss International Expertise for Caspian Green Energy Corridor
ASTANA – Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom discussed opportunities to draw on international expertise and investment potential for the development of the Caspian Green Energy Corridor during a meeting in Astana on Sept. 21.

Photo credit: KEGOC.

Representatives of Kazakhstan’s national electricity grid operator KEGOC met with John Alderdice, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy…
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Kazakhstan Strengthens Global AI Ties As NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang Plans Visit for AI Month Event
ASTANA – NVIDIA Founder and CEO Jensen Huang will visit Kazakhstan for the first time as a special guest of AI Month, a national program bringing together artificial intelligence specialists, developers, startups, researchers and technology companies.

Jensen Huang. Photo credit: Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development.

Huang will visit Kazakhstan at the invitation…
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Seven Years of Tokayev: Economy Rebuilt Through Resilience, Investment and Reform
ASTANA – Seven years into Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s presidency, Kazakhstan’s economic record is increasingly defined not by a single indicator, but by the breadth of change across investment, manufacturing, infrastructure, small and medium-sized enterprises and the social sector.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev meets young volunteers along Astana’s embankment on Sept. 19, reflecting a broader focus on…
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Kazakhstan Shines at FIDE Chess Olympiad as Women Reach Second, Coaches Aid Six Teams
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s women’s chess team moved into second place at the 46th Chess Olympiad after securing its sixth consecutive victory, defeating Azerbaijan 2.5–1.5 in the sixth round.

Kazakhstan’s women’s chess team moved into second place. Photo credit: KazChess.

Alua Nurman delivered the decisive point for Kazakhstan, defeating Gunay Mammadzada 1–0.…
Read full post here https://astanatimes.com/?p=120335
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