Week in Brief: 10 key developments shaping Kazakhstan this week

1. Presidents of Kazakhstan and U.S. hold talks at White House

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev arrived in Washington, D.C., for an official visit. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev began his visit with a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other representatives of the Administration of President Donald Trump.

2. Central Asia’s rare earth opportunity: The C5+1 Summit and the future of regional economic diplomacy

In this analytical review, a Kazinform News Agency correspondent examines the emerging dynamics of U.S.–Central Asia cooperation, the strategic significance of the upcoming summit, and the region’s growing role in shaping a diversified global supply chain.

3. Kazakhstan to join Abraham Accords

This step is aimed at revitalizing the Abraham Accords as a platform for cooperation between Israel and the Arab and Muslim countries under the auspices of the United States.

4. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev holds meeting with U.S. Congress members

The Head of State met with members of the U.S. House of Representatives – Jimmy Panetta, Carol Miller, Bill Huizenga, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove. President Tokayev noted the important role of the U.S. Congress in strengthening friendly relations with Kazakhstan and expressed his gratitude to the parliamentarians for their personal contribution to promoting the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

5. U.S. Congress moves to repeal Jackson Vanik and expand trade with Central Asia

U.S. senators and representatives have introduced two identical bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives to grant permanent normal trade relations, or PNTR, to Central Asian countries.

6. Kazakhstan, U.S. ink memorandum on critical minerals cooperation

The signing took place in the presence of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The document was signed by Kazakhstan’s Minister of Industry and Construction, Yersaiyn Nagaspayev, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick.

7. Rubio welcomes Central Asian delegations, calls for ‘new era’ in U.S.–C5+1 relations

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted a welcome reception for Central Asian delegations in Washington, D.C. at the State Department’s Benjamin Franklin Room, marking what he described as a “new era” in relations between the United States and the five Central Asian nations under the C5+1 diplomatic format

8. Kazakhstani IT startups showcased to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Washington

The President of Kazakhstan was introduced to Higgsfield AI, the country's first “unicorn,” a platform that generates cinematic-quality videos using artificial intelligence; Deep Infra, a service for deploying and running machine learning models; Valinor, a biotechnology startup; ARC Drones, a developer of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles; and other promising projects.

9. Amur tigers to arrive in Kazakhstan in 2026

Russia will train Kazakh human-tiger conflict mitigation specialists, chairman of the Forestry and Wildlife Committee of the Kazakh Ecology and Natural Resources Ministry Daniyar Turgambayev told the press conference of the Central Communications Service.

10.Kazakh actor Rustem Omarov joins Jackie Chan’s “Armour of God: Ultimatum”

According to Sәlem Entertainment company, Omarov will participate in the production both as an actor and screenwriter.

You can read last week’s 10 key developments shaping Kazakhstan here.