Today, a large-scale environmental campaign "Möldir Bulaq" was held in the format of the eco-quest "Clean Games". The initiative united residents of the region around an important goal – preserving the cleanliness of water bodies and fostering an environmental culture through practical actions.The main venue for the campaign in Kostanay was the coastal area of the beach on the Tobyl city side near "Aq Shanyraq". In the districts and cities of the region, events took place at water bodies determined jointly with the organizers.The organizers of the environmental campaign were the Public Development Department of the Kostanay Region Akimat, the Public Foundation "Environmental Club 'Neco'", and the youth resource centers of the region.A distinctive feature of the event was the "Clean Games" format – an environmental competition where teams not only cleaned the area of litter but also sorted waste, earning points for collected recyclables. This approach helped not only to clean polluted areas but also to popularize the culture of separate waste collection.Teams of 5 to 10 people were invited to participate. The campaign involved schoolchildren, students, volunteers, youth organizations, representatives of government institutions, as well as concerned residents of the region. Each team independently chose a name and a captain.During the competitive part, participants collected litter, sorted it into categories, and delivered bags to special collection points. One hour was allotted to complete the tasks.The collected waste was divided into several categories: plastic, glass, metal, as well as mixed and non-recyclable waste. A separate scoring system was provided for each type of litter. Teams received the highest number of points for collecting plastic, highlighting the importance of recycling this type of waste for the environment.The "Möldir Bulaq" environmental campaign became another important step towards fostering a responsible attitude towards nature and preserving the cleanliness of the native land for future generations.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1228590?lang=ru

Issues of forming legal culture, civic responsibility, and educating the younger generation based on national values continue to be at the center of attention for Kazakhstan's pedagogical community.One of the large-scale events in this direction is the republican online seminar-training "Constitution: Human Capital. Adal Azamat," organized by the National Center for Professional Development "Orleu" of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.The large-scale event brought together over 6 thousand educators from all regions of the country. During the plenary session, Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Secondary Education of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhomart Karambayev, delivered a welcoming speech and a report, outlining key tasks for integrating constitutional principles into the educational process.The substantive part of the program was presented by the director of the "Orleu" branch in Shymkent, Meruert Medetbekova. Her speech revealed the interconnection between the values of the country's fundamental law — the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan — and the content of the unified educational program "Adal Azamat."In modern conditions, the education system serves as a key tool for forming a new model of citizen possessing a high level of legal culture, patriotism, and developed critical thinking.The practical part of the seminar was conducted in the format of workshops at the "Orleu" branches across all regions of the country. Participants included heads of educational organizations, teachers, and methodologists. During the sessions, effective mechanisms for integrating constitutional values into the content of lessons and educational activities were presented.The pedagogical community of Kazakhstan faces a strategic task — instilling in students such qualities as honesty, responsibility, patriotism, and diligence. Work in this direction will be consistently continued in the regional branches of the National Center "Orleu."Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/vko-bilim/press/news/details/1228477?lang=ru

Bangkok, May 25, 2026 – The Kazakhstan-Thailand Business Forum, attended by official and business representatives of the two countries, was held at the headquarters of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. The event was attended by Deputy Akim of Almaty Region Bakyt nur Bakytuly, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Thailand Margulan Baimukhan, representatives of JSC “QazTrade” Trade Policy Development Center, government agencies, business associations, and the business communities of Kazakhstan and Thailand.During the forum, the parties discussed the current state and prospects for the development of bilateral trade, economic and investment cooperation, as well as opportunities to expand collaboration in the areas of the agro-industrial complex, food industry, transport and logistics, digital technologies, e-commerce, tourism, and sustainable development.Special attention was paid to leveraging Kazakhstan’s potential as a key transport and logistics hub between Central Asia, China, the Caucasus and Europe, as well as to the prospects for promoting Kazakh products in the markets of Thailand and other ASEAN countries.Welcoming remarks on behalf of Kazakhstan were delivered by Deputy Akim of Almaty Region Bakytnur Bakytuly and Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Thailand Margulan Baimukhan. The Thai side was represented by Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Dr. Poj Aramwattananont, Ambassador of Thailand to Kazakhstan Piyapin Niyomrerks, as well as representatives of the Kingdom’s business community.As part of the forum, the Kazakh side presented the country’s investment and economic potential, government support measures for investors, as well as the opportunities offered by the Astana International Financial Centre, Astana Hub and Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics infrastructure. Thai businesses showed significant interest in cooperation prospects in the areas of food security, agricultural processing, tourism, renewable energy, digitalization, and the development of modern production chains.A practical outcome of the forum was the signing of a number of bilateral documents, including memoranda of cooperation between the Akimat of Almaty Region and Thai tourism associations, as well as several commercial agreements between business entities of the two countries. The signed documents are aimed at developing direct ties between business communities, attracting Thai tourists to the Republic of Kazakhstan, exchanging trade, economic and investment information, supporting specialized companies, and promoting joint initiatives.The forum also featured thematic presentations by Thai business representatives, covering issues related to export-import operations, certification, logistics, and the development of distribution channels. Following the event, bilateral B2B meetings were held between representatives of companies and business associations from the two countries.Forum participants confirmed their mutual interest in further expanding trade and economic cooperation, intensifying direct contacts between business communities, and implementing joint investment projects aimed at bringing Kazakhstan-Thailand cooperation to a new level.For reference: According to the results of 2025, bilateral trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Thailand amounted to 255.1 million US dollars, an increase of 8% compared with the previous period. Kazakhstan maintains its status as Thailand’s key trading partner in Central Asia, accounting for more than 70% of Thailand’s trade with the countries of the region. Kazakhstan’s exports mainly consist of oil and petroleum products, metals, chemical products, and agricultural raw materials, while imports from Thailand include food products, automotive industry products, chemical and electronic industry products, as well as consumer goods.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-thailand/press/news/details/1228479?lang=ru

Bangkok, 22 May 2026 — H.E. Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan, Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), met with H.E. Professor Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, at the Commission’s headquarters in Bangkok.During the meeting, the parties discussed the implementation of decisions adopted at the 82nd session of the Commission, held from 20 to 24 April 2026. A key focus of the meeting was the coordination of timelines and stages for the implementation of the resolution establishing the UN ESCAP Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development in Almaty. The decision to establish this new United Nations institution was adopted by consensus by 52 member States of the Organization during the 82nd session of the Commission. The meeting also addressed Kazakhstan’s activities as a member of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology of ESCAP (APCTT) for 2026–2027, including the development of regional approaches to technology transfer and efforts to help reduce the technology gap in the AsiaPacific region.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-thailand/press/news/details/1228503?lang=ru

What is the purpose of revising and adopting new minimum adequacy thresholds?The purpose of the revised MAT calculation methodology is to increase the requirements for the minimum amount of pension savings necessary to ensure the adequacy of future funded pensions and to gradually increase the income replacement ratio of contributors through pension benefits at retirement age, taking into account minimum international standards. As a reminder, according to the minimum requirements of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the income replacement ratio (IRR) must be at least 40%.It is expected that the MAT calculation under the new methodology will be more closely aligned with real conditions and target parameters of pension provision and will reduce the risk of an individual having insufficient savings by the time of retirement.   How will the minimum adequacy thresholds be determined? What factors will be taken into account?According to the amendments, MAT amounts will be determined based on target indicators for future pension payments and calculated for each contributor's age using a standard formula for calculating the present value of monthly payments.This formula takes into account long-term demographic (national demographic tables) and financial (interest rates and indexation of payments) factors to ensure stability and predictability of future benefit amounts for citizens.The application of the present value formula for benefits is based on international practice for calculating the savings required for target payments, and the calculation results are expected to be less susceptible to change during ongoing revisions of the macroeconomic forecast.Minimum pension benefit requirements are based on socioeconomic indicators: the minimum old-age pension and the minimum wage, determined annually by the law on the national budget.It should be noted that when considering the possibility of withdrawing funds (for housing and medical treatment), an assessment will be made of whether the pension account has sufficient funds to cover future pension benefits.How will the adopted changes affect future pension benefits?   According to the current Methodology for Determining the MAT, if pension savings are withdrawn above the threshold, the contributor will expect to receive payments of approximately 50,000 tenge upon retirement, which corresponds only to the current subsistence minimum (SM). The current Methodology assumes that after withdrawing their savings to the threshold, the contributor will continue to regularly pay compulsory pension contributions (CPC) until reaching retirement age. However, in reality, if new contributions are paid irregularly or are not made at all, the current MAT levels will not provide the expected minimum payments. Therefore, the contributor's future benefit will be lower than the SM. Furthermore, even if contributions are paid regularly and minimum savings are maintained at the current MAT level, upon reaching retirement age, the funded pension of 50,000 tenge will provide less than 15% of the current median salary.For reference: Median wage is one of the criteria used to analyze a country's income, allowing for salary calculations for the entire country as well as for individual regions and localities. Median wage is an indicator that divides all salaries into two equal parts: half of the workers earn more than the median, and the other half earn less. It provides a more accurate picture of income. However, it should be kept in mind that it can change due to various factors, such as economic growth, inflation, labor market conditions, and political decisions.According to the adopted Methodology for determining the MAT, if pension savings are withdrawn above the threshold, the contributor will receive benefits upon retirement with a minimum amount approaching 40% of the median salary. Moreover, under the adopted Methodology, the thresholds will no longer depend on future contributions or on annual projected changes in many macroeconomic indicators. MAT values ​​will be determined based on long-term factors, including demographic tables of Kazakhstan's population, regularly updated by the United Nations (UN), taking into account national statistics. Accordingly, future pension amounts will be predictable for citizens and will gradually approach the target indicators of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries.According to the changes, the thresholds will depend on the contributor's age. The older the contributor and the closer they are to retirement age, the higher the requirements for the future pension payment, so that upon reaching retirement age, citizens can receive an income close to international standards.Thus, the new model makes the MAT calculation closer to real conditions and target parameters of pension provision and reduces the risk that a citizen will have insufficient savings by the time of retirement.How will the changes affect the ability to use pension savings for housing and medical treatment? Will access to withdrawals become more limited?Given the increase in MAT amounts, the amount of savings available for withdrawal may decrease, as the minimum amount required to remain in a pension account increases.At the same time:Current mechanisms for using pension savings for housing improvements and medical treatment remain in place;Only savings exceeding the MAT are available for withdrawal;MAT restrictions are intended to ensure sufficient levels of pension savings and benefits in the future.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/abay-semey/press/news/details/1228545?lang=ru