Kazakhstani ecology ministry no longer to issue permits to shoot Saiga
Images | Depositphotos
The Kazakh forestry and wildlife committee published a draft order at the website Open Normative Legal Acts, saying it will no longer issue permits to shoot Saigas in Kazakhstan, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The committee is to exclude Saigas from the public service ‘Insurance of permits for the seizure of species of animals, a population of which is subject to control. So, the government body will no longer control the Saiga population by shooting.
The document is presented for public discussion until May 8.
Earlier it was reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is to revoke the decision to cull the Saiga population, which, according to him, are the symbol of the Kazakh Steppe.
The country conducted the Saiga population control between October last and February this year, culling a total of 42 thousand heads of Saiga, which is a mere 12% of the plan.
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Kazakh national identity card's design to be changed from Jun 1
The Ministry of Internal Affairs drafted an order to introduce changes to the identity crads of the nationals of Kazakhstan. The document was published on legalacts.egov.kz portal, Kazinform News Agency reports.
According to the document, gender information will be indicated on the front side of ID cards henceforth
As before, the front side will include a citizen’s photo, a signature, family name, first name and patronymic (if any), birthdate and Individual Identification Number.
On the reverse side, at the top of the document, there will be the Individual Identification Number encoded as a barcode, and citizenship information
The draft order will be open for public discussion until May 21, and the new rules are planned to come into force on June 1.
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President hails Kazakh army men as professionals of their craft
Images | Akorda
Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the unveiling ceremony of an air base of the National Guard of the Republic of Kazakhstan hailing Kazakh army men as true professionals of their craft in his speech at the event, Kazinform News Agency reports.
In his remarks at the event the President reminded of the role of the Kazakh military personnel in numerous international missions under aegis of the UN. This year the Kazakh contingent started their first independent peacekeeping mission in the Golan Heights signaling a high level of competence of the contingent and Kazakhstan’s growing role on the global stage.
Earlier this year at the meetingof the National Kurultay President Tokayev gave an instruction to name an air base of the Kazakh Air Defense Forces based in Taldykorgan after our compatriot, two-time Hero of the Soviet Union Sergei Lugansky.
The Head of State believes that Lugansky’s life should serve as an example for future generations.
He stressed that Kazakhstan’s contingent follow the path of glory of our brave batyrs and wise ancestors, wishing them success in their service for the benefit of the motherland.
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Kazakhstan unveils National Guard air base
Kazakh President - Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev attended the opening ceremony of an air base of the national Guard in Astana, Kazinform News Agency reports citing the Akorda press service.
The Head of State congratulated those attending on the forthcoming Defender of the Motherland Day. He said it is a holiday that arouses patriotic feelings and raises the martial spirit, while the Armed Forces of Kazakhstan is a reliable shield for the interests of our sovereign country, a solid foundation for peace and stability.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said the new air base is a landmark event not only for the National Guard but also for the country's entire Army. It will empower law enforcement agencies and allow for rapid air missions.
The President stressed the military were on the frontline during the unprecedented floods in Kazakhstan demonstrating the striking example of their loyalty to oath. He expressed sincere gratitude to all the military who helped people through hard times.
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Kazakhstan creates modern gas processing industry
Images | primeminister.kz
A meeting of the Energy Council was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov with the participation of the leadership of the Ministry of Energy, Samruk-Kazyna, KazMunayGas, QazaqGaz, Samruk-Energo, KEGOC, primeminister.kz reports.
Control over the implementation of agreements reached between the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the Emir of the State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in February this year is on the agenda.
On the implementation of joint gas projects reported the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NC QazaqGaz Sanzhar Zharkeshov. With Qatari UCC Holding will be carried out construction of two gas processing plants with capacity of 1 billion m³ and 2.5 billion m³ per year, a new compressor station KS-14 and the main gas pipeline "KS-14-Kostanai-Aktobe", as well as the second string of MG "Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent".
The construction of the GPP is aimed at rational utilisation of raw gas by increasing processing capacity. Construction of the second string of the Beineu-Bozoi-Shymkent gas trunkline will ensure Kazakhstan's energy security by supplying gas to the southern, central and northern regions, as well as maintaining export volumes.
Commissioning of the new compressor station and Aktobe-Kostanay gas trunkline will provide gas to the population of Kostanai region and industrial enterprises of the region.
The participants of the meeting approved the main terms of the deal. It is noted that QazaqGaz and UCC Holding in general came to a consensus on all four major projects. In the near future their joint implementation will begin.
Prime Minister instructed to maximise the use of internal competencies of the group of national company QazaqGaz and products of domestic manufacturers in the implementation of projects. In addition, the Ministry of Energy has been given instructions to further increase the profitability of the gas industry.
Agreements between the President of Kazakhstan and the Emir of Qatar allow us to jointly implement a number of mega-projects of key importance for the economy of our country. We are consistently moving towards the creation of a powerful modern gas industry in Kazakhstan. There should be no delays in the implementation of projects. All issues are under my personal control," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
For reference: According to the Ministry of Energy and QazaqGaz, in 2024, Kazakhstan is expected to increase gas production to 60.456 billion m3. More than 85% of production is provided by Tengiz (27%), Karachaganak (38%) and Kashagan (20%) projects. The pace of development of the gas industry is confirmed by the fact that gas production in the country has been steadily increasing in recent years.
Marketable gas production in 2024 is planned at 28.054 billion m3. According to the forecast balance, the current domestic consumption in 2024 is 20.9 billion m3.
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Government taken early measures to curb vegetable prices in off-season
Measures to ensure stability of prices for socially important food products and vegetables in the off-season were discussed at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, primeminister.kz reports.
The price index for socially important food products in Kazakhstan has been decreasing for three consecutive weeks. A steady downward trend is observed in prices for such products as buckwheat groats, onions, sunflower oil, flour and others.
To prevent significant price fluctuations for vegetables in the off-season, the Government has worked out in advance the possibilities of direct contracting with suppliers from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The subordinate organisation of the Ministry of Trade and Integration "QazTrade" JSC has signed relevant contracts with Uzbek and Tajik partners.
Vegetables will be supplied to the Kazakh market through the "green corridor" and at the most attractive prices, with the exclusion of intermediaries and resellers.
Contracts for the supply of imported vegetables have been concluded with 9 agricultural companies with a total volume of 4,000 tonnes, including 2,060 tonnes of potatoes and 1,940 tonnes of onions.
To meet the needs of all regions of Kazakhstan and avoid price hikes for vegetables in the off-season, Prime Minister instructed to conclude contracts in a timely manner and ensure uninterrupted supply of products.
In general, akimats need to contract at least 18.6 thousand tonnes of potatoes, 7.2 thousand tonnes of carrots and 5 thousand tonnes of onions. At present, 81 thousand tonnes of vegetable products have been allocated from available stocks.
The meeting also considered the results of state control over compliance with the requirements for the sale of socially important food products. Since the beginning of the year the Ministry together with the interested bodies revealed 732 facts of exceeding the trade mark-up, initiated more than 1 thousand administrative proceedings, eliminated 109 unproductive intermediaries.
More than 2.5 thousand chains affecting pricing were analysed, more than 800 risks of violations of trade, tax and antimonopoly legislation were identified. Information on all identified facts was sent to authorised bodies for prompt action.
The activity of regional commissions has been reformatted and strengthened through the involvement of control and fiscal and law enforcement agencies.
Head of the Government instructed the akims of Zhambyl region and Abay region, where the growth of prices for some items has been recorded, to strengthen measures to stabilise them.
The Ministry of Trade has been instructed to analyse price changes on a daily basis, the Ministry of Agriculture - to provide the market with domestic crops of high quality and in full, to implement all the planned measures to increase the volume of processing in the agro-industrial complex.
Providing people with quality and inexpensive products is one of the main tasks of the Government and local authorities. We need direct supplies without intermediaries and price manipulation. Akims together with law enforcement agencies should ensure order and transparency in this matter," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.
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AIFC helped attract over $11bln of investments to Kazakhstan
Images | Akorda
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has received Renat Bekturov, Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre, Kazinform News Agency reports citing the Akorda press service.
The President was informed about the results of the AIFC operation in 2023 and Q1 2024 as well as on its development plans.
As Renat Bekturov said, since its launch, the AIFC has helped attract more than $11 billion of investments to Kazakhstan, including $3.5 billion in 2023 and in Q1 2024, having surpassed the initial target indicator set for 2025.
In 2023, the AIFC registered a record number of new participants - more than 670 companies (in whole, over 2,600 companies from 78 countries). The participants of the AIFC paid 48.7 billion tenge of taxes to the country’s budget in 2023 and in Q1 2024. The AIFC Court and the International Arbitration Centre are functioning successfully, having reviewed 767 commercial cases last year.
President Tokayev set a number of relevant tasks to ensure further development of the AIFC. In particular, he pointed out an important role of the AIFC in attraction of 'green funding' to the region and development of the Middle Corridor. More than 60% of 'green' obligations and loans in the country were issued with the support of the AIFC Green Finance Centre. Joint ventures are operating in the AIFC as part of implementation of the Middle Corridor project.
As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed, government agencies and supervising financial institutions should consolidate their efforts in attraction of investments in Kazakhstan economy, by actively using the AIFC infrastructure.
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