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Kazakhstan to Build 369 ‘Comfortable’ Schools by 2026

As part of the nationwide project 'Comfortable School', Kazakhstan is to build 369 new secondary schools, with accommodation for 740,000 pupils, by 2026. According to a press release issued by the government, the new schools will have separate blocks for elementary and high school students, technology for teaching contemporary subjects, and specially equipped classrooms to ensure both the safety of pupils and a barrier-free environment for children with special educational needs. Regarding construction, priority will be given to local manufacturers with a aim to use 70% of Kazakh-made materials, including 90% for the actual build. All of the schools' furniture will be made in Kazakhstan. The first schools are expected to open ahead of schedule with 21 to be launched this August, 18 in September, 58 in October, and a further 112 by the end of the year.

Artificial intelligence Government Social Strategy Economy Central Asia Security

Responsible AI Rankings: Uzbekistan Leads in Central Asia

The Global Center on AI Governance has published a report titled “Results of the Global Index on Responsible AI in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.” Among Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan has been judged to use artificial intelligence in the most responsible way. Recent AI initiatives in Uzbekistan cover fields including cultural and linguistic diversity, international cooperation, public sector skills development, and transparency. Kazakhstan ranks second in the region. Among Central Asian countries, Kazakhstan ranks first for the number of government initiatives related to responsible AI. Kyrgyzstan ranks third in the region, demonstrating significant non-governmental sector participation in responsible AI. However, the need for a comprehensive government system affects its overall outcome. The report states that the country has received a high rating for responsible AI governance, second only to Uzbekistan in the region. However, due to the scarcity of government frameworks, which, along with government initiatives, had the most weight in the index score, Kyrgyzstan scored lower in the Responsible AI Index. Tajikistan is the only Central Asian country with an AI national strategy aimed at development until 2040. It ranks fourth in the region. However, this strategy covers only 5 out of 19 thematic directions. Tajikistan's scores are relatively high regarding responsible AI governance; however, the country has the most passive non-state sector among the pillars assessed. Turkmenistan has the lowest indicator in the region. Government structures related to the responsible use of artificial intelligence have not been identified in the country.

Export/Import Investments China Agriculture Economy Social

China the Largest Market for Kazakhstan’s Agricultural Products

The Kazakh minister for agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov, has named China the largest market for Kazakhstani agricultural products. Kazakhstan mainly exports grain and oilseeds to China, and imports Chinese vegetables and nuts. In 2023 Kazakhstan’s agricultural exports to China increased by 84%, and reached $1 billion. In the first five months of this year, bilateral agricultural trade increased by 14%. It reached $540 million, including Kazakhstan’s exports at $380 million. Kazakhstan has signed protocols with China on the export of 27 types of agricultural products to the Chinese market, including 18 types of crop products and nine types of livestock products. Currently, nine Kazakh companies export livestock products, and 728 companies export crop products. They are waiting to be included in China’s importers register. Kazakhstan's agriculture ministry has signed a protocol with China's customs service to harmonise veterinary requirements for the export of various types of animals and livestock products, including cattle skins, dry mare's milk, frozen poultry products, horse meat, offal obtained from slaughtering animals, meat products that have undergone high heat treatment, as well as chilled beef and lamb. Saparov noted that Kazakhstan is among the world’s top 25 food exporters, exporting Kazakh agricultural products to 80 countries. Over the past five years its agricultural exports have doubled, reaching $5.4 billion. “We intend to continue increasing these figures. In the context of a growing food deficit [in the world], our country seeks to double agricultural exports by 2029,” he said, adding that Kazakhstan is changing the structure of agricultural exports, giving preference to deeply processed products, the exports of which have doubled over the past five years, reaching $2.3 billion.

Education Social UK University Investments

Cardiff University to Open Branch in Astana

A branch of Cardiff University will open in Astana next year. Cardiff University, in Wales, founded in 1883. It is one of the leading research universities in the UK, and is part of the prestigious Russell Group. Kazakhstan's ministry of science and higher education has reported that 14 branches of global universities have been opened in the country since 2021. Preparatory work is underway on eight other educational projects.

Gazprom Energy Finance Investments Russia Security Export/Import Economy Oil & Gas Social

Kyrgyzstan’s Capital to Switch to Russian Gas

At the St Petersburg International Economic Forum 2024, Gazprom Export LLC and Gazprom Kyrgyzstan LLC signed a long-term contract for the supply of natural gas by Russia to Kyrgyzstan. Deputy General Director of Gazprom Kyrgyzstan Arzamat Aldayarov announced that Russian Gazprom is now set to double its supplies of 'blue fuel' to Kyrgyzstan from 2025-2040. He stated that the Bishkek Thermal Power Plant will switch completely to gas from 2026. In addition, the Kyrgyz authorities are planning to launch several more stations near Bishkek, which will also operate on Russian raw materials. Arzamat Aldayarov added that the development of a five-year roadmap for providing gas throughout Bishkek was imminent and referencing plans to build 250–300 kilometers of gas pipelines annually, connecting 13–15 thousand apartment buildings to supplies, said, “Currently, a lot of electricity is spent on heating, which puts pressure on city networks. We are looking for other sources of heat. We want to completely gasify residential areas and switch them to gas heating."

Social Nazarbayev History

Nursultan Nazarbayev Stripped of Academy of Sciences Membership

News that the first president of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, has been stripped of his status as a member of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan, was announced by Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek. Nurbek explained that in 2023, Kazakhstan's current president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, decided to create a new Academy of Sciences with just nine members and in the process, 'reset' the status of former academy members. Nursultan Nazarbayev was awarded the status of academician of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakhstan in 1995 and in 2011, whilst participating in a scientific forum at the academy, received the honourable title of “Scientist of the Century.” The loss of his membership of the academy is the most recent example of Nazarbayev's fall from grace. In July last year, he was deprived of his position as head of the supreme board of trustees of autonomous educational organizations. Then, this spring, a waxwork of the first president, installed six years ago in the State Military History Museum of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan in Astana, disappeared. Previously, the monument to Nursultan Nazarbayev, inaugurated on his 80th birthday in 2020, was dismantled from the territory of the National Defense University in Astana, in tandem with the removal of another memorial to the man from the National Museum.