ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest includes the C5+1 Summit, Kazakhstan’s decision to join the Abraham Accords, the European Union’s growing partnership with Kazakhstan and more.

Astana. Photo credit: shutterstock.com

Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords with Israel in symbolic move to boost the Trump initiative

Kazakhstan will join the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab and Muslim majority countries in a move aimed at boosting the initiative that was a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s first administration, The Washington Post reported on Nov. 7. 

Kazakhstan is set to join the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab and Muslim majority countries in a move aimed at boosting the initiative that was a hallmark of President Donald Trump’s first administration.

The action, announced Thursday, is largely symbolic as Kazakhstan has had diplomatic relations with Israel since 1992 and is much farther geographically from Israel than the other Abraham Accord nations – Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump meets Central Asian leaders to boost critical mineral ties

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called critical minerals a key priority as he hosted the leaders of five Central Asian nations at the White House, emphasizing his administration’s efforts to expand and secure U.S. supply chains through new global agreements, Reuters reported on Nov. 7.

The meeting with leaders of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan came as Washington seeks to expand its influence in a resource-rich region long dominated by Russia and increasingly courted by China. Trump called Central Asia “an extremely wealthy region,” saying he wants to make America’s partnership with the five countries stronger.

Kazakhstan as the solution to the rare earths problem

U.S. media outlet RealClearMarkets published an article on Nov. 5 by Renat Bekturov, Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), ahead of the U.S.–Central Asia summit.

The article argues that Kazakhstan can play an important role in helping the U.S. diversify its supply of critical minerals, including through the Astana International Financial Center. The country is among the world’s largest by its mineral reserves, with large deposits of copper, uranium, and rare earths. 

“Despite the distance, U.S. companies are integrated into Kazakhstan’s economy, and the frameworks exist to make investment more predictable and less risky. If approached strategically, partnerships with suppliers such as Kazakhstan can move the U.S. beyond resource dependence toward the creation of resilient, diversified supply chains,” Bekturov writes in the article. 

 

To diversify its critical minerals supply, the United States should look to Kazakhstan

The National Interest published an article on Nov. 4 by Zhannat Dubirova, Vice Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, on the role Kazakhstan can play in helping the U.S. to secure a reliable supply of critical minerals. 

The article highlights Kazakhstan’s reserves, advanced processing capacity, and secure transport routes through the Middle Corridor, proposing U.S.–Kazakh cooperation in refining, logistics, and technology. In particular, Kazakhstan is capable of supplying 19 items from the U.S.’s list of critical minerals, underscoring its potential contribution to global supply chain resilience.

“By working together, the United States and Kazakhstan can create a model of critical minerals cooperation that reduces strategic vulnerabilities, strengthens transatlantic resilience, and ensures that both countries benefit from the industries of the future,” Dubirova writes

Three elements of EU cooperation with Kazakhstan: connectivity, sustainability and partnership

 

The European Union views Kazakhstan as an important partner in Central Asia linking East and West, advancing interregional connectivity as Brussels and Astana expand their cooperation in strategic areas such as energy, transport, logistics, critical raw materials, climate, water, digitalization and tourism, NE Global reported on Oct. 29.

“Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian country that signed the Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the EU; this year, it will be 10 years,” the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan Ambassador Aleška Simkić told NE Global on Oct. 29 from Almaty. 

“Already back then we agreed to work on 29 different areas, including connectivity, transport, energy, climate, water, digitalization, critical raw materials, as well as people-to-people contacts and human rights. In the past 10 years, the cooperation has evolved to real partnership, with Global Gateway’s flagship projects in these areas,” the EU ambassador said, a few days after Kazakhstan celebrated its National Day on Oct. 25.

Kazakhstan pioneers digital infrastructure to boost trade and transit

RailFreight, a media outlet based in the Netherlands, published an article on Nov. 4 based on an interview with Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Trade and Integration, Asset Nussupov. 

Kazakhstan sees digital transformation as a key driver of economic growth, technology and global integration in the coming years, explains Vice Minister Nussupov. A case in point is the new “Smart Cargo Platform”, a system to integrate all rail customs, logistics, transport services, and companies into one digital ecosystem that was launched in September.

“The country’s transformation policies are a serious effort. The country now ranks 8th in the world on the digitalization of government services,” the article notes. 

Kazakhstan’s digital rise is creating a new opening for U.S.–Central Asia cooperation

TechBullion, an international media outlet in the tech sphere, published an article on Nov. 5 arguing that Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy, is quietly building a sophisticated digital ecosystem. Its rapid transformation offers Washington an opportunity to engage in the Central Asian region through technology, data and artificial intelligence rather than just pipelines and resources.

The article notes that for Washington, this emerging bridge should be seen as strategic infrastructure – a network of entrepreneurs linking Central Asia’s markets to the U.S. innovation economy.

“Partnering with Kazakhstan on digital governance, AI, and innovation ecosystems would advance Washington’s goals of open, secure, and ethical technology while strengthening partnerships at the crossroads of Eurasia,” the article notes. 

14 stunning Asia-Pacific destinations worth the trip

An article published on Nov. 4 by ELLE spotlights the most captivating cities across the region – from Tokyo’s futuristic energy to Sydney’s coastal ease – celebrating places where culture, cuisine and creativity meet. Among them is Almaty, a city where mountain views and modern life come together.

“Almaty unfolds like a secret well kept – a city framed by snow-dusted peaks and infused with a cosmopolitan pulse. Here, café terraces buzz beneath the shadows of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains, and weekends begin with a cable-car ride to Kok-Tobe or a walk along leafy Dostyk Avenue. The city’s Soviet-modernist architecture meets sleek new design hotels and concept stores, while local chefs reinterpret Kazakh classics with an inventive flair. It’s the rare place where you can ski in the morning, sip craft coffee at noon, and end the day with live jazz and panoramic views over the steppe,” reads the article.

New “air gates”: how two airports will transform eastern Kazakhstan

The construction of new airports in the Katon-Karagai and Zaisan districts of eastern Kazakhstan is entering its final phase. For these remote regions, once accessible only by winding mountain roads, the arrival of runways, terminals, and control towers marks a historic milestone, The Times of Central Asia reported on Nov. 4.

 

“Katon-Karagai is the heart of Kazakhstan’s Altai region. Between the villages of Belkaragai and Ornek, a large-scale construction effort is underway to build a modern airport complex.

Spanning 266 hectares, the project includes a 2,260 meter runway, a terminal, a command-and-control center, and state-of-the-art navigation and meteorological equipment. 

In the Zaisan district, another major airport project is nearing completion near the village of Satpay. The runway and apron are fully finished, the drainage system is being finalized, and terminal and control tower construction is ongoing.

This airport is expected to play a vital role in expanding cross-border tourism and logistics. Currently, Zaisan receives about 20,000 tourists annually, a number that could increase four- to five-fold once the airport opens,” reads the article.

Kazakhstan is transitioning from resource extraction to green value chains

Markets Herald, a U.S. financial publication, published an article on Nov. 3 on the investment climate in Kazakhstan with a focus on the recent Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (KGIR). In his opening remarks, Minister of Industry and Construction Yersayin Nagaspayev outlined how Kazakhstan’s geology provides a foundation for this transformation. The country holds among the world’s largest reserves of tungsten, uranium, and chromite, and remains a top producer of manganese, silver, and tin,  all materials vital for renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

“Behind the economic data lies a decade-long effort to make Kazakhstan’s business environment more predictable, transparent, and globally competitive,” the article notes. The government has introduced Investment Agreements providing legislative stability for up to 25 years on large projects exceeding $60 million. It has also reformed its regulatory system, modernized procurement procedures, and enhanced judicial independence to strengthen investor protection.

The article adds that the United States has long been one of Kazakhstan’s principal economic partners. “Altogether, ten joint U.S.–Kazakh investment projects worth $538 million have been completed, while another nine worth nearly $6 billion are under implementation, and fifteen more totaling $2.5 billion are in development,” according to the article.