About: Nursultan Nazarbayev Archives

A change at the helm of Uzbekistan 18 months ago became a game-changer and greatly improved relations in Central Asia, where the personality factor remains very important. In an interview, researcher Anastassiya Reshetnyak assesses the geopolitical situation, relations in the region and with the EU.

In a wide-ranging interview, Galymzhan Koisybayev, deputy minister of foreign affairs of Kazakhstan, told EURACTIV about the results of a recent summit of the Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan) and the past and the future of regional cooperation.

Only a couple of years ago, a summit of the five Central Asia countries would have been absolutely unthinkable. But the leaders came together on Thursday (15 March) and decided to hold such meetings annually, always at the same time of the year, which is a major holiday in the region.

The EU as a soft power should convince other donors to make the funds available to decontaminate old uranium mines in Central Asia, writes Adrian De Meer.

The President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazabayev is in the US where he met on Tuesday (16 January) with US President Donald Trump. But the main purpose of his visit is a speech at the United Nations where Kazakhstan holds the Presidency of the Security Council for January.

Kazakhstan’s view is that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) should not be a place where decisions are made by the United States, Russia and the European Union with everyone else reduced to the role of spectators, writes Kairat Abdrakhmanov.

A flurry of diplomatic activity continued in Astana on Wednesday (1 November), marked by the visit of the King of Jordan, Abdullah II, who was awarded a prize for fighting against nuclear proliferation.

During the last UN session, when the media were dominated by headlines about the well-known hotbeds of tension, a strong but little noticed message came from the leader of a Central Asian Republic, writes Adrian Van der Meer.

Kazakhstan’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Roman Vassilenko, sheds light on important new developments in Central Asia, little known in the EU, and on the role of his country in major international issues.

Kazakhstan inaugurated a Low Enriched Uranium Bank on Tuesday (29 August), backed by the IAEA. The EU, one of the project's biggest donours, hailed it as a “success for international cooperation” on non-proliferation. EURACTIV.com reports from Ust-Kamenogorsk and Astana.

Central Asian countries are exploring forms of integration resembling those of the European Union, the latest one being the establishment of free movement of people and workers between Turkey and Kazakhstan.

Staging such an important exhibition as EXPO 2017 in Kazakhstan will accelerate our transition to a modern and sustainable economy, writes Kairat Abdrakhamanov. EXPO 2017 taking place from 10 June to 10 September 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Its theme is "Future Energy".

Kazakhstan and the wider region of Central Asia are on the cusp of significant change, albeit largely unrecognised by the rest of the world, writes Kamran Bokari.