Azerbaijani President Highlights Tokayev's Role in Strengthening Bilateral Relations
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Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said his personal relationship with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev plays an important role in advancing bilateral cooperation.
"Our personal relationship with President Tokayev is an important factor in both bilateral relations and regional cooperation... Without active cooperation between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, no transport project in the Caspian region would be possible," Zakon.kz quoted the Azerbaijani leader as saying.
Aliyev also noted that the two countries continue to work together on transport, energy and digital projects, including the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, the construction of an undersea power cable and a fibre-optic communication line across the Caspian Sea, as well as cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
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Kazakhstan Expands Powers of Labour Ministry
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The Kazakh government has expanded the powers of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov signed the relevant government resolution, No. 704, on August 10, 2026.
A number of amendments have been made to the regulations governing the ministry. In particular, it will now be responsible for certifying the accessibility of construction projects for people with limited mobility.
The ministry has also been given additional responsibilities in the areas of civil protection and mobilisation preparedness. It will develop civil defence plans, take part in preventing emergencies and fires at organisations under its jurisdiction, maintain stocks of civil defence equipment and supplies, and prepare response plans for major emergencies.
In addition, the ministry will oversee issues related to mobilisation reserves in the labour and social welfare sector. Its responsibilities will include placing orders for the supply of material resources, arranging their storage and replacement, and signing contracts with organisations to fulfil mobilisation orders.
Another new responsibility will be monitoring compliance with labour legislation by government institutions and quasi-public sector entities through a digital human resources system. The ministry will also approve standards governing the network of organisations providing specialised social services.
Most provisions of the resolution took effect on the date it was signed. Different effective dates have been set for certain provisions - August 13, 2026, and January 1, 2027. Some provisions will remain in force until January 1, 2027.
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Kazakhstan Energy Ministry Explains Cause of Major Power Outage in Almaty Region
Kazakhstan’s Energy Ministry has explained the cause of widespread power outages in Almaty, the surrounding Almaty region and other parts of the country, a correspondent for the agency reports.
"A sudden power surge occurred in the energy system, caused by an abrupt change in electricity flows from the Central Asian power grid. As a result, emergency protection systems were activated, cutting off power to a number of consumers in several regions of Kazakhstan," the ministry said.
The Energy Ministry said Kazakhstan’s national grid operator, KEGOC, was carrying out the necessary restoration work. Electricity supplies have already been restored in several regions.
"The situation is being closely monitored by the Ministry of Energy," the ministry’s press service added.
KEGOC said it was working to restore electricity supplies following a technical disruption in Kazakhstan’s Unified Power System.
"KEGOC is currently continuing work to restore electricity supplies to consumers," the company said.
Earlier, residents of several districts of Almaty and the surrounding Almaty region were left without electricity after an emergency shutdown of power transmission lines operated by KEGOC, Kazakhstan’s national electricity grid operator. The blackout also caused traffic congestion in Almaty.
Meanwhile, media reports said power supply problems were also being experienced in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
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Astana Proposes Restrictions on High-Rise Housing Construction on Outskirts Until 2035
Astana authorities are proposing restrictions until 2035 on the construction of apartment buildings in outlying areas of the city that lack the necessary infrastructure. Altynbek Akhmetov, head of the capital’s Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Relations, announced the proposal during a meeting of the city maslikhat, or local council.
The amendments are expected to be introduced to Astana’s existing rules governing architectural development and urban planning, which were approved by the maslikhat on August 27, 2024.
"It is proposed to amend the rules by adding a provision introducing a temporary restriction, until 2035, on the allocation of land plots and the construction of apartment buildings in peripheral areas of the city that are not served by main utility networks and social infrastructure," Akhmetov said.
The proposed restriction would therefore not apply to all areas on the outskirts of Astana, but only to those that lack main utility networks and the necessary social infrastructure.
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Pakistan’s Prime Minister to Pay State Visit to Kazakhstan
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to pay a state visit to Astana, according to a message from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev marking Pakistan’s Independence Day.
The President of Kazakhstan said the upcoming visit would give fresh impetus to cooperation between the two countries.
Tokayev also congratulated Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the national holiday. He praised Pakistan’s achievements in sustainable development and reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s readiness to further strengthen cooperation on bilateral and international issues.
The Kazakh leader wished Pakistan’s leadership every success and its people well-being and prosperity.
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Kazakhstan Sets August 16 Accreditation Deadline for Foreign Media Covering Kurultai Elections
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reminded representatives of foreign media outlets that the deadline is approaching for applications for accreditation to cover the elections to the Kurultai.
The deadline for applications is August 16, 2026. The elections will be held on August 23.
To obtain accreditation, foreign journalists must submit a letter from their editor-in-chief, a copy of a valid passport, a completed accreditation form, a digital 3×4 cm photograph, and background information about their media outlet.
Applications should be sent by email to accreditation@mfa.kz with the subject line "Kurultai Elections 2026".
The Foreign Ministry also reiterated that foreign journalists may carry out professional activities in Kazakhstan only if they hold permanent or temporary accreditation issued by the ministry.
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Kazakhstan to Launch First 50 MW Data Center Valley Facility in June 2027
The first 50 MW facility at Kazakhstan’s Data Center Valley in the Pavlodar Region is scheduled to begin operations in June 2027. The progress of the project was reviewed at a government meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov.
Construction is currently in an active phase. Excavation work for the energy centre and AI factory buildings is 90% complete, while foundation work has begun.
By the end of December 2026, the project is expected to see the completion of the main data centre and power unit buildings, an administrative and support complex, security checkpoints and part of the external utility infrastructure. Commissioning work is due to be completed in May 2027.
A 215 MW substation has been acquired to supply power to the project. Plans for water supply networks have also been developed, while the telecommunications infrastructure is currently being designed. In the longer term, the total capacity of Data Center Valley is expected to be expanded in stages to 1 GW.
An ecosystem for the development of artificial intelligence, cloud technologies and digital services is being created at Data Center Valley in partnership with Firebird AI and NVIDIA. Talks are also under way with foreign companies on developing additional IT capacity, attracting investors and anchor customers, deploying high-performance computing clusters and expanding cloud services.
"Our immediate priority is to complete construction of the first facility in June 2027. At the same time, we are creating the engineering infrastructure that will allow us to gradually expand the campus’s capacity in line with confirmed customer demand," said Bagdat Musin, Chairman of the Management Board of Kazakhtelecom.
The meeting also reviewed preparations for the Cloud First Policy (Data Embassy) project. The initiative would allow foreign governments to host their data in Kazakhstan while retaining full legal sovereignty over it.
Bektenov said Data Center Valley should provide the infrastructure foundation for the development of artificial intelligence and cloud services, while strengthening Kazakhstan’s position as a regional AI hub in Central Asia.
Following the meeting, the prime minister instructed officials to ensure that construction work is completed on schedule and to expand cooperation with foreign technology companies in order to attract new partners.
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Kazakhstan Accredits 405 More International Observers for Kurultai Elections
Kazakhstan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) today accredited a further 405 international observers for the Kurultai elections.
The observers represent seven foreign countries and nine international organisations.
"Through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Election Commission received applications for the accreditation of 405 observers from seven foreign countries and nine international organisations. These include 75 observers from the CIS Observer Mission, 23 from the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, 208 from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) Election Observation Mission, 23 from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, 10 from the Observer Mission of the Organization of Turkic States, 22 from the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States Observer Mission, 11 from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Observer Mission, nine from the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), seven from the Islamic Organization for Food Security, as well as 17 observers from Lithuania, Türkiye, Georgia, North Macedonia, Estonia, the Netherlands and Tajikistan," CEC Deputy Chairman Mukhtar Yerman said.
He stressed that the accreditation of international observers was still ongoing and that the figures would be updated as further nominations were received.
As of today, the Central Election Commission has accredited a total of 656 observers for the elections to the Kurultai of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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