On December 23 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev wrapped up his first three-day visit to Beijing since his reelection in December 2005. The trip, characterized as “a breakthrough” in bilateral relations by the official mouthpiece Kazakhstanskaya pravda, was marked by series of landmark agreements aimed at... MORE

At least three people died and dozens of Turkish and Kazakh workers were badly injured when a fight erupted at a construction firm in Atyrau (West Kazakhstan) on October 20. The firm holds a contract with Chevron, and the incident has re-ignited public anger against... MORE

Given the tense international atmosphere surrounding Iran, Astana has prudently declined to publicize its expanding ties with Tehran and depicts bilateral relations almost exclusively in economic terms. For example, official sources in Kazakhstan made few comments about the Kazakh-Iranian business conference held in Almaty on... MORE

On November 10 John Ordway, U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, attempted to play down speculation that the Republican defeat in the U.S. mid-term elections could presage changes in Washington’s priorities in Central Asia. In fact, basing his assessment on the continuity of U.S. foreign policy in... MORE

Kazakhstan is seeking to diversify its security interests, looking to Middle Eastern states for assistance. This trend was evident during Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s first state visit to Kazakhstan on November 7. Kazakh officials also explored potential security cooperation with Jordanian Defense Minister Maruf al-Bakhit... MORE

The most productive part of Kazakh Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov’s October 26 journey to Moscow appears to be his talks with Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom). Beaming for the cameras, Akhmetov said the sides had reached “fundamental agreements” on... MORE

An unusually explicit avowal of dependence on Russia for Kazakhstan’s most sensitive security needs, made in passing during bilateral talks, indicates once more the complexities underlying Astana’s foreign policy. Prime Minister Daniyal Akhmetov stated that Kazakhstan intends to work “only with Russian colleagues” in modernizing... MORE

Astana played host to the Commonwealth of Independent States Energy Council on October 13, a meeting that triggered mixed emotions in Kazakhstan. The session was orchestrated by the head of Russia’s Unified Energy Systems, Anatoly Chubais, who optimistically reported that the meeting was “a very... MORE

Kazakhstan has conducted military exercises in its western region, partly to demonstrate more effective coordination of its security forces, but also to convey a powerful signal to Islamic extremists and confidently display its ability to protect its facilities in the Caspian Sea. These exercises, though... MORE