Kazakhstan’s Revised Foreign Policy Concept Preserves Balanced Course
ALMATY – Kazakhstan’s updated Foreign Policy Concept for 2020–2030 preserves the country’s balanced and pragmatic foreign policy while adapting it to a new constitutional framework, shifting geopolitical realities and a stronger emphasis on protecting the interests of Kazakh citizens and businesses abroad, analysts say. The amendments, signed by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and effective from…
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Kazakhstan Begins Construction of Robotics Complex as It Expands Humanoid AI Ambitions
ALMATY – Kazakhstan has begun construction of its first Robotics & AI complex on Aug. 18. According to the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, the complex will support research, software and artificial intelligence development, testing and localized production of robotic systems as the country seeks to build domestic capabilities in humanoid robotics.…
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Muay Thai Legends Bring Sports Diplomacy to Kazakhstan, Says Ambassador
ASTANA — Muay Thai is deepening cultural ties between Thailand and Kazakhstan by creating connections beyond language and politics, Ambassador of Thailand to Kazakhstan Piyapin Niyomrerks told The Astana Times. Her comments came as three prominent fighters opened a two-day Muay Thai master class in Astana on Aug. 20.

Muay Boran, a traditional Thai…
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Reintroduced Tiger Shows Early Signs of Successful Adaptation in Kazakhstan
ALMATY – Umit, the female Amur tiger released into the wild in Kazakhstan’s Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reserve on July 31, has successfully begun hunting independently, killing a wolf and a wild boar during her first 10 days in her new natural habitat, according to specialists monitoring her adaptation.

Photo credit: gov.kz Click to see…
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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…
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Cathay Pacific to Launch Direct Flights From Almaty to Hong Kong in January 2027
ALMATY – Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific will launch direct flights between Almaty and Hong Kong on Jan. 9, 2027, establishing the first direct air link between Kazakhstan and Hong Kong and expanding connections between Central Asia and the carrier’s global network.

Photo credit: Cathay Pacific

The airline will operate the route three times…
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Why Kazakhstan’s AI Challenge Might Not Be Adoption, but Capability
ASTANA – Kazakhstan is moving rapidly to position artificial intelligence at the center of its economic modernization strategy, investing in computing infrastructure, skills, startups and Kazakh-language technologies as governments worldwide compete for a place in the emerging AI economy.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

Kazakhstan has an increasingly ambitious AI agenda. The government has made AI…
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Kanye West Concert Brings $11 Million to Kazakhstan, Boosting Almaty’s Event Tourism
ASTANA – Kanye West’s first solo concert in Central Asia generated an estimated 5 billion tenge (US$11 million) in tourism-related economic impact for Almaty, highlighting the growing role of major international concerts in attracting tourists and generating economic activity in Kazakhstan.

Photo credit: Tele2/ Altel

The concert, held on Aug. 15 at Almaty’s Central…
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Mid-August Weekend Full of Art, Music and Adrenaline
ASTANA – From gallery openings and live music to high-octane drift shows, Astana and Almaty are heading into the weekend with a packed cultural and entertainment calendar. The Astana Times has rounded up some of the most interesting events worth stepping out for, whether you are looking for art, music, adrenaline or simply something…
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News Digest: Foreign Media on Kazakhstan’s Reforms, Investment and Regional Role
ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles on Kazakhstan featured in international media worldwide this week. Today’s foreign media digest covers Kazakhstan’s AI education initiatives, political reforms and upcoming Kurultai election, investment prospects, and growing role in Central Asian and Eurasian cooperation.

Almaty. Photo credit: Almaty’s city administration.

Kazakhstan rolls out AI…
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Kazakhstan’s Volunteer Portal Proposal Could Turn Global Initiative Into Practical Tool
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s proposed international volunteer portal could be more than an image project, giving the country an opportunity to turn its global volunteer agenda into a practical mechanism for international cooperation, said an expert with the National Volunteer Network.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (R) and UN Volunteers Executive Coordinator Toily Kurbanov (L). Photo credit:…
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Kazakhstan’s First Kurultai Campaign Puts Competing Policy Priorities in Focus
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s first campaign for the new Kurultai has brought all seven registered political parties into a national political debate, with televised discussions and public meetings highlighting their policy priorities ahead of the Aug. 23 vote.

Photo credit: Tengrinews.kz

A campaign built around debate

The campaign has emphasized televised debates. Over four…
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Tokayev: Kurultai Elections Could Be ‘Most Interesting’ in Kazakhstan’s History
ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has called Kazakhstan’s first elections to the new unicameral Kurultai a historic event and urged citizens, notably young people, to take part in the Aug. 23 vote.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addresses the nation ahead of Kazakhstan’s first Kurultai elections on Aug. 23. Photo credit: Akorda.

In an address to…
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Exploring History of Kurultai in Steppe Civilization
ASTANA – The Kurultai has long served as one of the defining institutions of governance across the Eurasian steppe. Long before the emergence of the Kazakh Khanate, assemblies of tribal leaders gathered to settle disputes, legitimize rulers, declare war and shape the political course of nomadic states.

Mongol Kurultai. Double-page illustration from Rashid al-Din’s…
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How Tropical Greenhouse in Astana Quietly Changes Way You Think About Survival
I had lived in Astana for years before I finally visited the greenhouse at the city’s Botanical Garden. Looking back, I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long. I’d walked through the park countless times, watched runners weave between its paths, admired the flower beds in summer and the endless white snow…
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Kazakhstan’s Archaeological Heritage: From Ancient Steppe Discoveries to Shared Digital Atlas
ASTANA — Archaeologists from across the Turkic world are moving towards a new model of cooperation that could make the region’s archaeological heritage easier to study as a single interconnected historical space.

Collage is created by The Astana Times.

At the third meeting of the Association of Research Institutes and Centers of Archaeology of…
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S&P Upgrade Highlights Kazakhstan’s Economic Resilience and Investment Potential
ASTANA – S&P Global Ratings raised Kazakhstan’s long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings on Aug. 21 to BBB/A-2 from BBB-/A-3, while maintaining a stable outlook. The agency also raised its transfer and convertibility assessment to BBB+ and affirmed Kazakhstan’s national scale rating at kzAAA.

The upgrade strengthens Kazakhstan’s position among investment-grade sovereigns and could…
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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).

Photo credit: Galiya Khassenkhanova.

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…
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Kazakhstan Records 37.05% Voter Turnout by Noon in Kurultai Election
ALMATY – Voter turnout in Kazakhstan’s first elections to the Kurultai reached 37.05% as of noon on Aug. 23, with 4,670,816 voters having received ballots, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev cast his ballot at polling station No. 520. Photo credit: Akorda.

Kyzylorda Region recorded the highest turnout at 47.59%,…
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International Observers Deliver Assessment of Kazakhstan’s First Kurultai Vote
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s transition to a single-chamber legislature entered a new stage Aug. 23 as voters went to the polls to elect the country’s first Kurultai, with international observers monitoring the process.

During an Aug. 23 press briefing on the Kurultai election, observers from various international organizations shared their assessments of the voting process.…
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