• KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00190 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09146 -2.56%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 -0.14%
02 December 2024

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 41

Tokayev and Macron Forge New Path for French Investments in Kazakhstan

The Paris summit between Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and France’s President Emmanuel Macron was a significant event in their countries' evolving bilateral relations. The high-level discussions were centered on deepening cooperation across trade, economic investment, cultural, and humanitarian issues. The talks have reaffirmed and broadened existing frameworks, foretokening robust and diversified collaboration. The historical foundation of Kazakh-French relations, particularly in the economic sphere, has long been strong. French multinational corporations, such as TotalEnergies, have played significant roles in Kazakhstan’s major energy projects, including the Kashagan oil field. At the recently concluded summit, President Tokayev held meetings with prominent French business figures, seeking to enhance investment flows and economic partnerships across the renewable energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors. France recognizes Kazakhstan’s strategic significance in Central Asia and seeks to deepen the partnership, which also complements Europe’s generally expanding engagement with the region. The summit builds on a series of annual encounters that sustain the momentum in Kazakhstan–France relations. In November 2023, a year after President Tokayev’s trip to France in November 2022, President Macron made an official visit to Kazakhstan. This visit highlighted the shared interests between the two countries and underscored the importance of their growing cooperation. The meeting not only strengthened political dialogue but also laid the groundwork for further economic, cultural, and technological collaboration, reflecting a commitment to long-term partnership. The regularity of summits between Kazakhstan and France, besides indicating the pragmatic nature of their relationship, speaks to the personal rapport between Tokayev and Macron. The sustained, high-level engagement indicates a mutual appreciation for reliable and constructive diplomacy. The Paris summit continues the momentum and deepens the strategic significance of relations between Kazakhstan and France relations, as the new agreements demonstrate their common intention to leverage shared interests in pursuit of more comprehensive cooperation. At the 2022 meetings, 25 economic agreements were signed amounting to a value of $3 billion, according to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If we include the agreements signed at the 2023 meetings, then the newest agreements bring the overall total to $6.4 billion. Bilateral trade reached $4 billion from January to August this year, representing a 44.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023. Kazakhstan’s exports to France for the same period rose by 45.2 percent to $2.7 billion for the first eight months of 2024. These exports were heavily concentrated in crude oil and uranium. Just ahead of Tokayev's visit to Paris, the city hosted the 13th meeting of the Kazakhstan–France Business Council. Twenty-four documents were signed there, worth $2 billion, which spanned the agro-industrial, information-technology, light industry, medicine and mining sectors, not to mention a continuing interest in the energy sector. Kazakhstan’s proactive engagement, including its receptivity to French participation in the NPP consortium is in the line of the country's balanced and pragmatic approach to international partnerships. For France, this partnership deepens its footprint in Central Asia while also promoting the policy goals of broader energy diversification and geopolitical influence.  Kazakhstan represents 90 percent of France’s trade with...

Why Does Energy-Rich Kazakhstan Want Tajikistan’s Uranium?

Despite having significant uranium resources, Tajikistan does not plan to build a nuclear plant anytime soon, if it all. Quite aware of that, Kazakhstan – Dushanbe’s ally in the Russian-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) – is reportedly eyeing Tajikistan’s uranium. But why? "I would rather earn a profit from the resources of others than my own," John D. Rockefeller, a prominent industrialist, is often paraphrased as saying. Policymakers in Astana could soon begin implementing such a strategy in regard to uranium. Kazakhstan is the largest producer of natural uranium worldwide. In 2022, the energy-rich nation produced the largest share of uranium from mines (43% of world supply), followed by Canada (15%) and Namibia (11%) (ref). In spite of that, Astana could eventually start purchasing the radioactive element from Tajikistan. On August 22, following Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s visit to Dushanbe, the Tajik Rare-Earth Metals Company, TajRedMet, and Kazakhstan’s national atomic company, Kazatomprom, signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in the extraction and processing of uranium and rare-earth metals. Signing such a protocol aligns with Astana’s ambitions to build a nuclear power plant in the country. In that context, Kazatomprom – the world's largest uranium producer – is likely seeking to play an active role in producing uranium fuel for the proposed nuclear plant. Given the global resurgence of nuclear energy and the ensuing “race for uranium,” Kazatomprom is keen to assess the current status of Tajikistan's uranium reserves, and, if feasible, expand its resource base. Uranium is considered one of the main natural resources of Tajikistan. It is believed that the first atomic bomb developed by the Soviet Union contained raw materials from Tajikistan. But after the collapse of the USSR, uranium mining was curtailed in the mountainous country. According to various estimates, 14% of the world's reserves of uranium are located on the territory of the landlocked country of around 10 million people. But compared to other nations, Tajikistan does not have significant uranium mining operations, meaning its uranium deposits remain underdeveloped. However, the fact that Russian companies are interested in exploration and mining of uranium in the Tajikistan suggests that Kazatomprom might have serious competition. It is entirely possible that other foreign corporations will also eventually join the “race for uranium” in Tajikistan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan will almost certainly be inclined to consolidate its own uranium market. In terms of uranium production in the largest Central Asian state, the Russian State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom is the leader due to its shares in five enterprises operating in Kazakhstan. Since Astana aims to develop closer ties with the West, it is no surprise that France is looking to strengthen its position in the energy-rich country, particularly in its nuclear and uranium sectors. Russia and China are unlikely to give up easily on their ambitions to preserve their influence in the Central Asian nation, however. In 2022, Kazakhstan exported around half of its uranium to China. From January to October 2023, Astana shipped uranium worth $922.7 million to the...

Kazakhstan’s Proposed Nuclear Power Plant: a Geopolitical Tightrope amid Environmental Concerns

Renowned for its abundant uranium reserves and expansive mining ventures, Kazakhstan is making substantial progress in the realm of nuclear power. Currently, approximately 60 nuclear reactors are under construction worldwide in 17 countries, and with more in the pipeline, demand for uranium has skyrocketed. Kazakhstan is by far the world's largest producer of nuclear fuel, mining 21,227 tons in 2022, which equates to 43% of global production. Kazatomprom, the national atomic company, is the world's largest uranium producer, with its subsidiaries, affiliates, and joint ventures developing 26 deposits. Russia, Japan, China, Canada, and France are all heavily invested, whilst international agreements exist with a plethora of other nations. Kazakhstan’s inaugural venture into the nuclear field was marked by the BN-350 fast-neutron reactor in Aktau, which ran from 1973 to 1999 before being decommissioned. Now, President Tokayev has announced a referendum will be held to decide whether to build the nation’s first fully-fledged nuclear power plant. "On the one hand, Kazakhstan, as the world's biggest uranium producer, should have its own nuclear power capacity," Tokayev stated. "On the other hand, many citizens and some experts have concerns about the safety of nuclear power plants.” The Proving Ground With Kazakhstan having endured the most contamination of all the former Soviet Republics, anything nuclear is a contentious issue. Between 1949 and 1989, the authorities executed more than 750 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan, the bulk of these, including the USSR’s first successful atomic explosion - codenamed Joe-1 - taking place in the Semipalatinsk Polygon (proving ground) in the north-east of the country. By far the hardest hit area, Semipalatinsk saw 456 tests, which affected two million people across 300 square kilometers. Eager to know what to expect in the event of a nuclear war, in 1957 the Soviets secretly opened Dispensary Number Four in Semipalatinsk. Shipping in spectators - teachers were instructed to have their pupils watch explosions - the facility observed and analyzed the effects of radiation on the populous and reported their findings back to Moscow. In this post-apocalyptic land, elevated levels of cancer, tuberculosis and mental illness persist. Today, people swim in crater lakes left by blasts which dot the steppe, though animals won’t go near the water. With all agriculture banned, a vast swathe of land still remains off-limits. Pregnancies are still screened for possible termination, with 6% of babies born “polygon.” Even in inhabited areas, Geiger counters read over 250; the normal level is just fifteen. In their headlong rush to abandon the empire upon the collapse of the USSR, the Russians left more than an undetonated payload in the mines of Semipalatinsk. As soldiers rioted over conditions and unpaid wages, upon its independence Kazakhstan inherited the fourth largest nuclear arsenal in the world. With Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi sniffing around, it was widely rumored that the Iranians, who the CIA publicly alleged to be “actively shopping,” had offered $300 million for weapons-grade uranium. Arriving in Kazakhstan post-haste, through a combination of threats, the promise of a seat at the international table...

Aral Sea Parallels Loom Over Lake Balkhash

Located 175 miles north-west of the country’s largest city, Almaty, Kazakhstan’s Lake Balkhash is the fifteenth largest lake in the world. The remains of an ancient sea which once covered vast tracts of land, on its shores in the city of Balkhash, a mixture of around 68,000 mostly ethnic Kazakhs and Russians eke out a living, predominantly through fishing and mining. But like its’ sister body of water, the Aral Sea, Lake Balkhash is under threat with its inflow sources diminishing. Fed by glaciers in Xinjiang, China, the Ili River has traditionally accounted for the vast majority of Lake Balkhash’s inflow, but according to research, as of 2021 China was blocking 40% of the river’s inflow, leading to a rise in anti-Chinese sentiments in Kazakhstan. In 1910, Lake Balkhash had an estimated surface area of 23,464 km². As recently as the 1960s, fishermen were netting a catch of over 30,000 tons annually, but by the 1990s, this had fallen to 6,600 tons of significantly less sought-after types of fish. Between 1970 and 1987 alone, the water level fell by 2.2 meters, with projects aimed at halting this decline abandoned as the Soviet Union fell into stagnation before dissolving. Currently, the lake covers a surface area of between 16,400 and 17,000 km². Falling water levels have also led to the appearance of new islands and impacted biodiversity, with 12 types of bird and 22 vertebrates indigenous to the region listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan as endangered, whilst the Caspian tiger is, in all likelihood, extinct. Meanwhile, contamination from mining, both local and upstream in China, have led to the lake being classified as “very dirty.”[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="12326" img_size="full" el_class="scond-image" parallax_scroll="no" woodmart_inline="no"][vc_column_text woodmart_inline="no" text_larger="no"]With desertification now affecting one-third of the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, which includes Almaty, the resultant dust storms are leading to an increase in the lake’s salinity, with silt from these storms further affecting inflow. Parallels to the Aral Sea – arguably the worst man-made environmental disaster in modern history – are all too apparent. Spanning across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea was once the fourth largest inland body of water in the world, covering 68,000 km². The destruction of the Aral Sea first dates back as far as the U.S. Civil War, when, finding his supply of American cotton under threat, the Russian tsar decided to use the sea’s tributaries to irrigate Central Asia and create his own cotton bowl. With 1.8 million liters of water needed for every bale of cotton, the water soon began to run out. By 2007, the Aral had shrunk to one-tenth its original size. Up until the late-1990s, the land surrounding the Aral Sea was still cotton fields; today, it’s largely an expanse of salinized grey emptiness. The desiccation of the landscape has led to vast toxic dust-storms that ravage around 1.5 million square kilometers. Spreading nitrates and carcinogens, these storms - visible from space - used to occur once every five years, but now strike ten times a year.[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image="13441" img_size="full"...

Kazatomprom Changes Work Plan for 2024

The National Atomic Company of Kazakhstan, Kazatomprom has announced that it was forced to make changes to its production plan for the current year. The main reason for the changes was a reduction in the supply of substances needed for uranium mining in Kazakhstan. In addition, it is reported that the heads of the nuclear company recognized the impossibility of implementing the approved plans to create the infrastructure necessary for new mines. The news was published by the official press service of the National Atomic Company. In 2022, the management of Kazatomprom announced the successful conclusion of a number of contracts and laid out a plan to increase uranium production over the next 2-3 years. In figures, it was set to produce 80% of the subsoil use contracts in 2023, and 90% in 2024. However, it became clear that these plans were not feasible due to concerns about increasing production. They were also rendered impossible due to changes in global imports, meaning Kazakhstan was unable to establish a supply chain of key materials and reagents for the plant, and alternative sources of necessary materials are yet to be found. Kazatomprom's press service also reported that a shortage of sulfuric acid is expected in 2024. The management of the National Atomic Company reports that it hopes to fulfill all its obligations to customers and will make every effort to do so. However, the 2025 development plan may also be revised if the supply problem persists. Changes to the current year's plan will be submitted by February 1st.

Kazatomprom Qualifies for Production of Advanced Nuclear Fuel

Kazakhstan’s National Atomic Company, Kazatomprom, the world's largest producer of uranium, says it has successfully completed the qualification process for the production of AFA 3G TM type A fuel assemblies at the Kazakh-Chinese Joint Venture, Ulba-FA LLP, which produces nuclear fuel for Chinese nuclear power plants. A document confirming the technical compliance of the product with all the mandatory quality requirements, norms and standards was provided by Framatome, the holder of technology. Work on the qualification for fuel assemblies’ production started in March 2023. As a result, the plant successfully received confirmation on the quality of its products. The qualification allows the plant to produce AFA 3G TM type A fuel assemblies, in addition to AFA 3G TM AA fuel assemblies, thus expanding the product line, Kazatomprom said. In 2024, Kazatomprom plans to commission industrial production of AFA 3GTM type A fuel assemblies and supply a batch of fuel assemblies of this type to nuclear power plants in China. The Ulba-FA plant has allowed Kazatomprom to diversify its production, expanding its product line and producing advanced, export-oriented uranium products with a high added value. With a production capacity of 200 tons of uranium in the form of fuel assemblies per year, the Ulba-FA plant has a guaranteed sales market for the next 20 years, Kazatomprom said. The launch of this innovative production has allowed Kazakhstan to enter the limited circle of countries which produce and supply nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants.