Nursultan Nazarbayev News

KAZAKHSTAN: HAS ASTANA MET ITS OSCE PLEDGES? Joanna Lillis 12/03/09 Kazakhstan will celebrate the New Year by fulfilling a cherished ambition: on January 1 it assumes the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Russia wants to turn a newly minted Customs Union with Belarus and Kazakhstan into its major vehicle for post-Soviet economic integration in Central Eurasia.

Officials at a meeting in Athens of the 56-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said Kazakhstan had made some progress but urged it to use its turn at the helm to improve its democratic institutions.

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on Friday gave the go-ahead for the creation of a united customs union, whose tariff regime will be based largely on the one that Russia currently has in place.

The presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus reached a deal Friday to create a customs union among their three ex-Soviet states from July 1 next year.

In the last few years, big banks have found many surprising ways to lose billions of dollars by making loans that turned sour.

The presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are expected to sign a deal on a Customs Union between the three ex-Soviet nations on Friday in Minsk.

Will Kazakhstan have a pivotal role in Karabakh issue? 04:25 pm Today Politics The prospects of Kazakhstan's presidency in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were discussed in Yerevan on Wednesday.

Kazakhstan will allocate $50 million to train 1,000 Afghan specialists in the next five years in Kazakh higher educational establishments and vocational schools, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said Sunday.

The event brought together teachers from higher education institutions of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and other countries, TURKSOY representatives and heads of national cultural centers.

As Kazakhstan gears up to chair the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010, Astana is facing criticism over its recent democratization record.

Italy's Eni group and Kazakhstan's London-listed KazMunaiGas on Thursday signed a preliminary agreement that could result in up to $50bn of investments in the central Asian state's upstream and downstream oil and gas sectors.

Pope Benedict XVI met on November 6 with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, and took note of the "peaceful coexistence between faithful of various religions" in the country-- where Muslims constitute the majority, but Russian Orthodox maintain a substantial presence.

VATICAN CITY, 6 NOV 2009 - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today: "Today, Friday 6 November 2009, His Holiness Benedict XVI received in audience Nursultan Nazarbayev, president of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Italian aerospace and defense company Finmeccanica has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Kazakhstan sovereign wealth fund for a raft of cooperation deals.

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 6, 2009 .- Kazakhstan is one nation that enjoys the peaceful coexistence of faithful from various religions, Benedict XVI and the Kazakhstani president observed today.

ROME Italy's Silvio Berlusconi praised the virility of Kazakhstan's men during a visit to Rome by its president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, saying this was the reason for the former Soviet country's population growth.

Kazakh and Italian presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Giorgio Napolitano discussed a broad range of topics in Rome, saying their positions coincided on key international issues.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev signed on Thursday new commercial agreements aimed at boosting bilateral ties.

Italy's Finmeccanica industrial group on Nov. 5 signed a memorandum of understanding with a Kazakhstan sovereign wealth fund to reach industrial cooperation deals covering helicopters, railways and electro-optics, including tank upgrades.