Kazakhstan, currently chairing the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), by extricating the former Kyrgyz President, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, from internal exile in Jalalabad has highlighted opaque features of the crisis. It also provided an opportunity for the Kazakh president to cast himself in... MORE

On March 17, Kazakhstan’s President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, arrived in Tashkent to discuss bilateral relations with his Uzbek counterpart and regional rival. Although the visit was prompted by an official invitation from President, Islam Karimov, he received a saliently reserved welcome in Tashkent. Karimov failed to... MORE

Moscow and Astana have reiterated their earlier pledges to boost bilateral economic and energy partnership. However, the two former Soviet states have proved slow to complete existing energy projects, while bilateral trade has also declined. During a meeting in Moscow, between Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir... MORE

NATO and Kazakhstan reached an agreement on January 27, allowing the Alliance to supply non-military goods through Kazakh territory to Afghanistan, substantially enhancing the capacity of the Northern Distribution Network (NDN) carrying supplies from Europe through Russia and Central Asia to Afghanistan. The deal came... MORE

On December 14, 2009, China and Turkmenistan formally opened the longest natural gas pipeline, which runs from Turkmenistan through Central Asia to China. This pipeline, financed by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)—China's largest oil and gas producer and supplier—is the first gas pipeline connecting China... MORE

On January 20, the Turkish Ambassador to Kazakhstan, Atilla Gunay, met the Kazakh Defense Minister Adilbek Zhaksybekov in Astana as part of a series of recent meetings to foster bilateral dialogue. Centered on military cooperation, it came three months after Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited... MORE

Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has begun with a clear indication that the country intends to prioritize security. Astana will present its initiatives for the year ahead to the OSCE on January 14, amid growing signs of pressure... MORE

Profuse eulogies such as a “milestone in Sino-Kazakh’ relations,” “an epoch-making event” were the most frequently uttered by the Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev after their talks in Astana on December 12. Hu Jintao had every reason to describe his... MORE

On January 1 Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev said that the country will advance security as the chair of the OSCE in the “area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.” Kazakhstan’s government has suggested holding an informal OSCE meeting of foreign ministers in Astana in mid 2010,... MORE