Foreign media on Kazakhstan: Armenian PM highlights Kazakhstan’s role in peace process with Azerbaijan; Bronze Age metropolis uncovered in Kazakh steppe

ARMENPRESS: Armenian PM highlights Kazakhstan’s role in peace process with Azerbaijan

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commended Kazakhstan for its role in advancing the Armenia Azerbaijan peace process, highlighting Astana’s timely mediation efforts, reports ARMENPRESS.

“Kazakhstan provided a platform for the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to meet in Almaty at a very important time, and those negotiations were crucial for further developments,” he said at a joint press conference with President Kassym Jomart Tokayev.

Pashinyan stressed that the Almaty Declaration now underpins the peace process, calling it a document of both “concrete political significance and symbolic importance.” He added that following the Washington peace summit on August 8, 2025, he personally called Tokayev to brief him on the talks, describing it as an expression of gratitude “for your personal support during this period, as well as Kazakhstan’s support.”

The Prime Minister said it was a profound honor to receive Kazakhstan’s highest state award, referring to Kazakhstan as a brotherly nation for Armenia. He noted that receiving the award from an “experienced statesman” like Tokayev carried special meaning.

“You are a person who has made a tangible contribution to contemporary international politics,” Pashinyan stated.

He concluded that the visit has elevated bilateral ties.

“As a result of this official visit, relations between Armenia and Kazakhstan reach the level of strategic partnership, which provides a new springboard for the further development of our relations.”

NUCNET: Kazakhstan announces name of first nuclear power station

According to NUCNET, Kazakhstan has officially chosen the name Balkhash for its first nuclear power plant, following international practice of naming such facilities after their geographic location. The decision comes after a nationwide online competition held from 25 September to 10 October.

The plant will be built on the shores of Lake Balkhash, roughly 400 kilometers north of Almaty, and will feature two Russian supplied Generation III+ VVER 1200 reactor units. According to the competition commission, “Balkhash Nuclear Power Plant” was selected from 882 submissions, with more than 27,000 citizens participating. The panel reviewed the 100 most popular entries out of 10,460 unique proposals.

In his September state of the nation address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that one nuclear plant alone will not meet Kazakhstan’s long term energy needs, stressing that the country must begin preparing for a second and even third station.

Kazakhstan, which holds the world’s largest uranium reserves and supplies more than 40% of global uranium, has never operated a commercial nuclear power plant.

The Times of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and China deepen cooperation on Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor

According to The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have signed a new cooperation agreement with China Railway Container Transport Corp., Ltd. (CRCT) to advance the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a key link between China and Europe. The document was concluded during the Second China Railway Express Cooperation Forum in Xi’an under the theme “Connecting Asia and Europe for a Shared Future.”

KazakhstanTemirZholy noted that the agreement formalizes collaboration between CRCT and MIDDLE CORRIDOR MULTIMODAL Ltd., a joint venture established by the railways of the three South Caucasus and Central Asian countries. The initiative is designed to improve efficiency, safety, digital solutions, and environmental performance along the corridor.

The Middle Corridor has gained strategic significance as an alternative China-Europe route. KTZ reports that freight transport between Kazakhstan and China has expanded more than four and a half times over the past decade. This year, volumes exceeded 29 million tons in the first ten months, marking an 11 percent annual increase, with total freight for 2025 projected at 35 million tons.

Joint hubs in Lianyungang, Khorgos, and Xi’an continue to show strong momentum, with container traffic rising more than fivefold in ten years to over 1.4 million TEUs. Activity along the Trans-Caspian route is also growing, with container train numbers up 12 percent in the same period.

Kazakhstan is responding with large scale rail upgrades. Modernization and construction of five thousand kilometers of track is underway, which will boost annual cross border capacity with China to one hundred million tons in the coming years.

ESPN: Belgium made to wait to clinch World Cup spot after Kazakhstan draw

Belgium was held to a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan on Saturday and missed a chance to qualify for the World Cup, ESPN reports.

Rudi Garcia's side can still book a ticket to next year's tournament with a win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday in their final qualifier.

Belgium leads Group J with two points more than North Macedonia.

The draw in Astana guaranteed the Belgians will finish in the top two. The 12 group winners from European qualification go directly to the World Cup. The continent's remaining four berths are decided by a playoff of the dozen runners-up. Kazakhstan took a ninth-minute lead through 17-year-old Dastan Satpayev.

Hans Vanaken leveled for Belgium in the 48th when the Club Brugge midfielder headed in a cross by Timothy Castagne.

But Belgium, which had routed Kazahkstan 6-0 in September, was unable to take advantage of playing with an extra man from the 79th minute after Islam Chesnokov was red carded for a hard challenge on Jérémy Doku.

Poultry World: Kazakhstan poultry industry expansion takes off

Kazakhstan’s drive to achieve full self sufficiency in poultry meat is showing steady progress, Poultry World reports. The Union of Poultry Farmers reports that the country’s self sufficiency rate for broiler meat has reached 80%, up from 67% in 2022. The Agricultural Ministry expects this figure to reach 100% by 2027.

Since 2022, fourteen new poultry farms have been launched with a combined capacity of 144,000 tons per year, bringing total domestic output to 360,000 tons. The Union notes that many existing farms still operate below full capacity and could raise production by up to 30% without new construction. One example is JSC Poultry Agro in Kostanai, revived after eight years of inactivity following an investment of 3.2 billion tenge.

Industry growth is driven by both new facilities and the modernization of older ones. The government aims to double livestock exports by 2030, expanding soft lending at 5% for poultry and livestock producers. Efforts are also underway to open the EU market, following earlier plans for exports to China.

However, the Kazakhstan Agency for the Protection of Competition cautions that high feed costs continue to limit the sector’s export competitiveness.

CNN Science: Archaeologists may have uncovered a Bronze Age metropolis in Kazakhstan’s steppe

Archaeologists have identified a large Bronze Age settlement on the grasslands of modern Kazakhstan that may reshape understanding of life in the Eurasian Steppe around 1600 BC, CNN Science reports. The site, known as Semiyarka or “The City of Seven Ravines,” was first recorded two decades ago, but recent surveys beginning in 2018 revealed an extensive settlement with houses, a monumental central structure, and early evidence of tin bronze production.

Published in Antiquity, the findings indicate that Semiyarka may represent only the second documented site of tin bronze manufacturing in the steppe.

Spanning about 140 hectares above the Irtysh River valley, Semiyarka challenges long held assumptions that steppe societies were exclusively mobile.

The team used satellite imagery, Cold War era Corona photographs, and magnetometry to identify structural outlines, locating at least 15 buildings. More may lie beneath compacted soil undisturbed by winter conditions.

Researchers say future excavations will focus on Semiyarka’s population, duration, and regional links.

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