The volume reserved for Kazakhstan is intended to supply the southern and south-central parts of the country. To that end, under a separate project, KazTransGaz will lay a 1,510 kilometer pipeline, Beyneu-Akbulak, with a first-phase capacity of 5 billion cubic meters annually by mid-2011 and... MORE

Since 1991 Kazakhstan has pursued a multilayered foreign policy, juggling its evolving foreign initiatives from hydrocarbons to military cooperation with its former Communist master Russia through growing relationships with China and the United States. Now a fourth player is entering the market—Israel, not for Kazakhstan’s... MORE

The 17th session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly hosted by Kazakhstan in Astana from June 29 to July 3 is generally seen as an outstanding diplomatic victory for Kazakhstan on its uphill way to political recognition by the Western world. On the other hand, it... MORE

As Kazakhstan’s long-awaited term of chairmanship of the OSCE draws near, Astana is stepping up its multifaceted ties with the West, disregarding the painful reaction of the Kremlin to any westward movement in Central Asia. The signing of the strategic partnership treaty between Nursultan Nazarbayev... MORE

Kazakhstan’s military and security relationship with Russia, strong and rooted in common interests and approaches expressed through bilateral and multilateral defense cooperation, shows signs of deepening in new ways that reveal some of the most pressing priorities of Kazakhstan’s defense policies. In Eastern Kazakhstan from... MORE

Apparently, there was a great deal of political calculation aimed at sobering up adamant western leaders to the hard-line stance of the post-Putin Kremlin in Dmitry Medvedev’s first foreign trip to Astana as Russian President on May 22. Whatever may be the true motives of... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made his first state visit on May 22 and 23, with Kazakhstan as his destination, before proceeding to China. Although he traveled east, his message seemed subtly calibrated for Western consumption. His arrival in Astana did not indicate any shift in... MORE

Kazakhstan has announced ambitious plans to become the leading regional exporter of arms in Central Asia, transforming its defense industry capabilities within the next two years in order to export mainly artillery systems. Kazakhstan Defense Minister Daniyal Akhmetov has confirmed that the country intends to... MORE

On May 13 Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas met with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and subsequently told reporters that Lithuania was seeking to deepen its energy cooperation and bilateral trade with Kazakhstan. Kirkilas told journalists, "We touched upon very important energy issues, because Lithuania is... MORE