Speaking at a joint session of parliament on September 1, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev recognized the looming threat of terrorism for his country. He expressed a serious concern over the security situation and the spread of religious extremism in the country, noting that last year... MORE

The Secretary-General of the World Trade Organization, Supachai Panitchpakdi, made a landmark visit to Kazakhstan on August 25. Panitchpakdi hailed Kazakhstan's efforts to join the WTO and positively evaluated the reforms carried out by the government, particularly in updating its foreign trade rules in accordance... MORE

Joint UK-Kazakh military exercises held in Kazakhstan, August 18-25, may herald closer cooperation between the two countries and open future exercises to greater regional participation. This diplomatic success, in the context of the war on terror, promotes British interests in the region and facilitates joint... MORE

"An Uzbek is my near-brother" runs a common Kazakh saying, which has lost its original implications since the July bombings in Tashkent. The ever-worsening relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are anything but brotherly. Although Uzbek and Kazakh security forces declared their readiness to carry out... MORE

With its vast arable land, Kazakhstan sees grain production as more than a matter of food security. It is also increasingly becoming an effective tool in shaping its economic and political relations with the outside world. Over the last three years Kazakhstan has taken steps... MORE

On August 11, a Russian RS-18 (Stiletto) inter-continental ballistic missile was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kyzylorda region, symbolizing the expanding Russian-Kazakh cooperation in space exploration. In recent years Kazakhstan's government has been repeatedly criticized for failing to make good use of the Baikonur... MORE

Kazakhstan's efforts to successfully reform its largely Soviet-legacy armed forces has taken small steps towards achieving some of its longer-term goals, though much remains to be tackled if its future development is to be rescued from decline. In July the Kazakhstani government finally gave approval... MORE

General John Abizaid, Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), visited Kazakhstan on August 2 with the express purpose of discussing ways to strengthen military cooperation between the United States and Kazakhstan. He also discussed Kazakhstan's partnership with NATO and explored ways in which this... MORE

With elections to Majilis (lower chamber of parliament) just a few weeks away, calls for genuine democracy in Kazakhstan ring louder than ever before. On July 21 leaders of the Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan, the pro-democratic party "Ak Zhol," and the Communist Party of Kazakhstan... MORE

The flurry of speculations around the July 20 death of well-known journalist Askhat Sharipzhanov does not seem likely to subside in the coming weeks. Sharipzhanov, the 40-year old editor of the opposition electronic paper Navigator and one of the most furious critics of the authorities,... MORE