Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Ukraine have agreed to introduce unified transit permits for freight transport. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Transport.
The relevant intergovernmental agreement was signed on May 15 of this year at a meeting of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission in Astana. It provides for the introduction of a single transit permit form in all five countries.
The document will allow carriers to cross the territories of several participating states using a single form without additional documents. The decision aims to eliminate administrative barriers and speed up transit.
AZERBAIJAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, transit permits, UKRAINE, UZBEKISTAN
Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called Kazakhstan a key regional partner of Ukraine and spoke in favor of deepening cooperation in the fields of logistics, energy, and post-war reconstruction, also announcing his intention to launch the “Ukraine + Central Asia” platform.
“It is important for Kazakhstan to remain one of the key suppliers of energy resources in Eurasia, while simultaneously diversifying and modernizing its energy sector. Kazakhstan is also one of the world’s leading producers of uranium, which is a critically important resource for nuclear energy production. This plays an important role in global energy security,” the minister said in an interview with The Times of Central Asia.
Sibiga noted that Ukraine is interested in the participation of Kazakhstani businesses and investors in the country’s reconstruction, as well as in the development of the Middle Corridor as an alternative transport route between Asia and Europe involving Ukrainian Black Sea ports.
Separately, the foreign minister touched on the topic of historical memory and the shared experience of Ukraine and Kazakhstan related to policies of repression and the suppression of national identity.
According to Sibiga, Russia’s strategic goal is to continue a policy that, in his assessment, dates back to the times of the Russian Empire and the Soviet period.
“Russia’s strategic goal is to complete what the Russian Empire began and the Soviet regime failed to finish: the eradication of national identity and the destruction of the very foundation of our existence as a separate nation,” he emphasized.
The minister also noted that Ukraine and Kazakhstan share a common historical memory of language and cultural bans, repression, deportations, and famines.
“Ukraine and Kazakhstan alike remember the tragic chapters of their history: the banning of language and culture, the destruction of the intelligentsia, deportations, repression, and famines. We cannot allow this to happen again,” the foreign minister concluded.
Central Asia, KAZAKHSTAN, MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, PARTNER
Kazakhstan plans to completely stop purchasing electricity from Russia starting in 2027 thanks to the commissioning of its own power generation facilities, said the country’s Deputy Minister of Energy, Sungat Esimkhanov.
According to him, if the planned power facilities are commissioned in late 2026 or early 2027, Kazakhstan will be able to meet domestic demand without Russian supplies. “If we commission all of our planned power facilities by the end of this year or early next year, I think that in 2027 we will not purchase any electricity from Russia at all,” Esimkhanov said at a press conference.
In recent years, Kazakhstan has purchased electricity from Russia annually due to a shortage of its own capacity. According to the Ministry of Energy, the deficit is decreasing: in 2024 it stood at 2.1 billion kWh, in 2025—about 1.5 billion kWh, and in 2026 it is expected to be at the level of 1–1.2 billion kWh. The government expects to eliminate this deficit by 2027.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Energy Erlan Akkenzhenov stated that the country intends to fully meet the economy’s electricity needs by the end of the first quarter of 2027. To this end, Kazakhstan is implementing 81 energy projects with a total capacity of 15.3 GW and an investment volume of over 13 trillion tenge, or more than $25 billion.
Moving away from Russian supplies will be a significant milestone in Kazakhstan’s energy policy. For the country, this means reducing dependence on external electricity sources and transitioning to a more self-sufficient energy balance model. However, the plan’s success will depend on the timing of new facilities coming online, the condition of the grids, and the power system’s ability to handle peak loads.
The decision also has regional significance. Kazakhstan remains part of the Central Asian power grid and is connected to the Russian power grid, so reducing imports from Russia does not mean a complete technological disconnect. However, from an economic and political standpoint, the move to replace Russian supplies demonstrates Astana’s desire to strengthen its own energy security and reduce vulnerability to external disruptions.
For Russia, this means a gradual loss of a portion of its electricity export demand from Kazakhstan. For Central Asia, it is a signal to accelerate the modernization of power generation, the construction of new thermal power plants, the development of renewable energy, and the improvement of grid reliability, as power shortages remain one of the region’s main infrastructure challenges.
According to the results of a public opinion poll conducted in March 2026 by the research company Active Group in collaboration with the Experts Club information and analytical center, Ukrainians’ attitudes toward Kazakhstan are characterized by a predominance of neutral assessments and a moderate level of positive perception, which, however, shows a certain decline compared to the previous period. The share of positive attitudes stands at 38.2% compared to 42.7% in August 2025, while negative assessments have risen slightly—from 8.0% to 8.9%.
A key feature is the dominance of a neutral stance: 50.8% of respondents do not have a clear assessment of Kazakhstan. This indicates a relatively low level of emotional engagement among Ukrainians in their perception of this country and Kazakhstan’s limited presence in Ukraine’s information and public sphere.
The structure of positive assessments appears balanced: 12.1% of respondents expressed a “completely positive” attitude, while another 26.1% described it as “mostly positive.” At the same time, negative attitudes are formed primarily through moderate assessments: 8.2% of respondents chose the “mostly negative” option, while only 0.7% selected “completely negative.” The share of those who could not answer is 2.1%.
The trend indicates a certain cooling of positive perceptions of Kazakhstan. Although negative assessments remain relatively low, their gradual increase, combined with a decline in positive sentiment, may signal a weakening of interest or trust in the country among the Ukrainian public.
Overall, Kazakhstan is perceived as a country with a neutral image, without a clearly defined emotional assessment. Such a profile is characteristic of states that do not play a prominent role in the Ukrainian information space or are not associated with political or security processes that are key to Ukraine.
In this context, future shifts in attitudes will largely depend on how actively Kazakhstan engages in relations with Ukraine and how prominent its role becomes on the international agenda relevant to Ukrainian society.
According to a study conducted by the Experts Club information and analytical center based on data from the State Customs Service, Kazakhstan ranks 42nd in total trade volume with Ukraine, amounting to $400.2 million. At the same time, Ukraine has a trade surplus with Kazakhstan of $245.3 million, as exports exceed imports by more than four times.
The study was presented at the Interfax-Ukraine press center; the video can be viewed on the agency’s YouTube channel. The full version of the study can be found at this link on the Experts Club analytical center’s website.
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A ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a Boeing aircraft maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) hangar center was held in Shymkent, according to the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Transport.
“The new complex will become the largest aircraft maintenance and repair facility in Central Asia and one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan’s aviation industry,” the ministry said.
The project involves the creation of a modern full-cycle production center focused on servicing Boeing aircraft, including the Boeing-737 (Classic/NG/MAX) and Boeing-757/767 families, as well as promising programs for Boeing-777 wide-body aircraft. In this regard, the purchase of additional Boeing aircraft is planned.
The complex will be located on an area of 10 hectares. The total area of the engineering and technical infrastructure will exceed 45,000 square meters, including an aircraft parking area of more than 6 hectares. It is planned to build at least 15 high-tech facilities.
“The implementation of the project will allow Kazakhstan to create a modern service base of international level, capable of attracting foreign airlines to service their aircraft, expanding industry competencies and creating new highly skilled jobs,” the press release said.
It is noted that the initiative to create the center was developed during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s working visit to the United States, where, at a meeting with Boeing executives, the prospects for expanding strategic cooperation were discussed, including the implementation of a project to build a Boeing aircraft maintenance and repair center in Shymkent.
Earlier, Kazakh airline SCAT agreed with Boeing Co. to increase the number of Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet to 15 by 2035: in September 2025, SCAT received its 11th Boeing 737 MAX8.
A few years ago, Kazakh airline Air Astana announced plans to start flying to the US once it got its hands on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In November 2025, Air Astana said it signed a deal with Boeing Co. to get up to 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline expects to take delivery of four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the fourth quarter of 2026.
KAZGELATIN LLP intends to build a plant in Almaty region to produce gelatin with capacity of 10 thousand tons per year, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan reported.
“The project provides for the construction of a plant in Alma-Ata region to produce food gelatin and products of deep processing of animal by-products – hides, bones and other collagen-containing raw materials,” – said in the message following the meeting of Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ermek Kenzhekhanuly with representatives of the company.
In addition to the main products, the plant will produce collagen components, fodder proteins and technical fats. Total investment in the project is estimated at 58 billion tenge ($117.9 million at current exchange rates).
“Currently, the domestic market’s needs for food gelatin are fully covered by imports, despite the availability of a sufficient raw material base in the country. Kazakhstan has significant volumes of animal by-products, which, if properly processed, can become a source of high value-added products. The launch of production will reduce import dependence, increase the level of processing of agricultural raw materials and strengthen food security,” the ministry said.
Special attention was paid to the creation of a network of procurement organizations in the regions to accept hides and bones of farm animals.
As reported, in January “daughter” of Turkish Iskefe Holding began to build a plant in Almaty for the production of food gelatin with a capacity of 7 thousand tons per year. The products of this enterprise will be used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, in the sphere of processing of leather raw materials there are 11 enterprises in the country, capable to process annually 3.3 million hides of cattle and 3.1 million hides of small horned cattle. However, the actual level of processing remains low: in 2024, only 5.9% of raw materials were sent for processing, 7.7% were exported, and 86.4% remained unclaimed.
Within the framework of a comprehensive plan for the development of processing of agricultural products for 2024-2028, it is envisaged to create more than 70 collection points for wool and about 200 collection points for hides to form a stable raw material base for processing enterprises, the department said.
