![](/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/region-central-asia.jpg)
Latest Articles about Kazakhstan
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Horgos_Port_-_EDM_February_20__2012.jpg)
Kazakhstan-China Transportation Opportunities and Challenges
At the end of November 2011, PRC Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang and Kazakhstani Minister Aset Isekeshev attended the inauguration of the construction of the first transnational free-trade cooperation center in Central Asia, located along the cross-border river near the Xinjiang village of Horgos. This China-Kazakhstan... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Angela_Merkel_and_Nursultan_Nazarbayev_-_EDM_February_14__2012.jpg)
Germany, Kazakhstan Sign Strategic Agreement on Rare-Earth Metals
On February 7 in Berlin, the German and Kazakhstani governments signed an agreement on “partnership in the raw materials, industrial and technological spheres.” Chancellor Angela Merkel and Kazakhstan’s visiting president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, witnessed the signing. The agreement focuses on rare-earth metals. These represent a world-class... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Hillary_Clinton_and_Yerzhan_Kazykhanov_-_EDM_February_9__2012.jpg)
Economic and Security Ties Overshadow US-Kazakh Political Differences
From January 31 through February 1, Yerzhan Kazykhanov made his first visit to Washington as Kazakhstan’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs. He met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a number of influential US government and business leaders. The parties generally agreed that economic and... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Zhanaozen_-_EDM_February_1__2012.jpg)
Lessons Learned and Public Accountability in Kazakhstan After Zhanaozen
On January 31, the state of emergency ended as scheduled in Zhanaozen, the oil town devastated on December 16 when an oil-workers’ strike degenerated into riots. Most of the town’s public edifices and business establishments were attacked in one way or another, looted and set... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Zhanaozen_post-violence_-_EDM_January_31__2012.jpg)
Western Investors Ponder Kazakhstani Market After Zhanaozen
One reason why Kazakhstan, despite its small population and remote location from the world’s major economic and political centers of influence, has been able to exercise considerable influence in global affairs is that it attracts enormous foreign investment. Along with its oil wealth, foreign investors... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Nursultan_Nazarbayev_Nur_Otan_-_EDM_January_27__2012.jpg)
Post-Election Crackdown in Kazakhstan on Government Critics and the Media
After years of concerted efforts by the Kazakh authorities and hired foreign public relations firms to burnish Kazakhstan’s international profile, the long nourished and cherished image of an open and modern country was brought down like a house of cards over the past month. Firstly,... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Nazarbayev_campaign_poster_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpg)
Kazakhstan Embarks on Guided Transition to a Multi-Party System
The elections just held in Kazakhstan have successfully accomplished the limited goal of moving from a single-party to a multi-party parliament. This political opening has come about by decision of the state leadership. This decision marks one step in an evolutionary process of broadening political... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Kazakhstan_elections_-_EDM_January_20__2012.jpg)
Kazakhstan’s Parliamentary Elections: A Cautious Step Toward Political Pluralism
Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, indicated at the time of his re-election in 2011 that conditions were ripe for moving from a single-party to a multi-party parliament. Toward that goal, pre-term elections were held on January 15, 2012 to the parliament’s lower chamber, the 107-seat Majlis.... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Jund_al-Khilafah_-_EDM_January_18__2012.jpg)
Network of Jund al-Khilafah in Kazakhstan Wider Than Predicted
On December 29, 2011, 41-year old Yerik Ayazbayev, the leader of a Jund al-Khilafah (JaK – Army of the Caliphate) cell based in the Almaty suburb of Boraldai Village, was killed in the Southern Kazakhstan city of Kyzylorda (Interfax [Astana], December 30). Five of his... MORE
![](/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Zhanaozen_polling_stating_-_EDM_January_17__2012.jpg)
Elections in Zhanaozen Peaceful, But Concerns Remain
Kazakhstan held parliamentary and local elections a month after clashes between protesting oil workers and police left 17 dead in the western city of Zhanaozen on December 16, 2011. The violent riots followed by police shooting took place on the day Kazakhstan celebrated the twentieth... MORE