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ASTANA – The Astana Times has picked a selection of articles on Kazakhstan featured in international media across the world this week. Today’s foreign media digest covers Kazakhstan’s steps to return illegally withdrawn assets, the country’s approval of cryptocurrency exchange, cooperation with Switzerland, efforts to diversify oil export routes, the growth of the Astana International Financial Centre, and nonproliferation efforts.
Photo credit: planetofhotels.com.
Kazakhstan aims to recover illegally acquired assets
Euractiv, a European news website, published an article on May 29 on Kazakhstan’s efforts to return illegally withdrawn assets, including assets abroad, citing Snezhanna Imasheva, chairwoman of the Committee on Legislation and Judicial and Legal Reform of the Mazhilis, the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament, and Elvira Azimova, chairwoman of Kazakhstan’s Constitutional Court.
Azimova said that an essential aim of the reforms initiated by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev after the January 2022 events is to meet people’s demand for justice.
As for the embezzled assets that have been transferred abroad, which has been proven in court, their return should be decided by the agreements Kazakhstan has concluded, she said.
Bybit receives in-principle approval to operate in Kazakhstan
Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2018 and headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has received in-principle approval by Kazakhstan’s Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), according to an article published on May 29 in the Hubbis platform focused on the Asian wealth management industry.
“Kazakhstan is a gateway to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a fast-growing market that is rapidly embracing cryptocurrencies. The region has established itself as a hub for cryptocurrencies, mining, and blockchain development. Bybit recognizes the potential of this market and is excited to offer its services to customers in Kazakhstan and CIS,” notes the article.
Kazakhstan diversifying oil export routes to mitigate impact of Ukraine conflict
S&P Global Commodity Insights, a UK-based provider of energy and commodities information and a source of benchmark price assessments in the physical commodity markets, published an interview on May 24 with Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazmunaigas (KMG), Kazakhstan’s state-owned oil and gas producer.
“Due to the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting consequences, our primary goal is to preserve current export routes and at the same time develop additional routes to diversify export options,” the article quotes Mirzagaliyev.
How Astana International Financial Centre hopes to change the region
International Policy Digest, an American media outlet, published an article on June 1 by Renat Bekturov, Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC). The article outlines the growth and expansion of the AIFC, noting that almost 2,000 companies operate at the AIFC today, and $8 billion of investments have been attracted to Kazakhstan’s economy.
“When the AIFC was established half a decade ago, we set the ambitious goal to become the acknowledged financial gateway for Central Asia and provide partners and investors access to the wider Eurasian region, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Western China. We wanted to play a major role in improving links between Asia and Europe, spreading prosperity across the region, and strengthening links with the global economy,” Bekturov writes in the article
“I believe we have achieved these objectives. Now we are working towards becoming a global centre for business and finance, connecting the economies of Eurasia. Given the trajectory, I have no doubt that we will remain in a prime position to meet the needs of both investors and our region,” the Governor of the AIFC concludes.
Stadler Rail will start production in Kazakhstan next year
Finanz und Wirtschaft, a Swiss business-focused newspaper, published an article on May 26 covering the agreement reached between Kazakhstan Temir Zholy national railway company and Swiss Stadler Rail for the supply of 537 sleeping and couchette coaches worth 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion).
“Following the order worth billions from Kazakhstan, the train manufacturer Stadler Rail will start production in the Central Asian country next year. The first deliveries are expected for the end of 2025,” the article reads.
The company plans to employ almost 400 people at the peak of production in 2026.
Kazakhstan’s civil aviation soars to new heights with 25 additional international routes
Kazakhstan has announced ambitious plans to introduce 25 new international flights by 2025 as part of its ongoing efforts to bolster the civil aviation industry, reported the Caspian News, a news outlet in Azerbaijan, on May 30.
Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov, speaking at a government meeting, emphasized that these new flight routes would significantly contribute to the development of multilateral cooperation.
“The country’s civil aviation embarks on a new path of its post-pandemic development,” said Smailov.
Kazakhstan’s nonproliferation model offers more security
EU Reporter, a Brussels-based European news platform, published an article on Kazakhstan’s efforts toward the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
“Based on [first President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s] rejection of nukes and popular revulsion at Soviet nuclear testing that had made hundreds of thousands ill, and created environmental disasters in large parts of Kazakhstan, and to forestall international and regional nuclear-based rivalries involving Kazakhstan, he renounced and dismantled Kazakhstan’s Soviet-era nuclear inheritance,” the article notes.
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