President Paul Kagame arrived in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, May 27, for an official visit, during which he will also deliver remarks at the Astana International Forum. Kagame and his host President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will hold a meeting on Wednesday before addressing a joint press conference, according to Village Urugwiro.
The two presidents’ delegations are expected to sign multiple agreement of cooperation in various areas.
Kagame was the first Rwandan President to visit Kazakhstan in 2015. The landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a small portion in Eastern Europe, was an important part of the Mongol Empire and later the Russian Empire. It gained independence on December 16, 1991. Kazakh language is the official language of Kazakhstan. The Russian language has the status of the language of interethnic communication. The unit of currency used in Kazakhstan is tenge.
Here, let’s look at 10 important and interesting things about Kazakhstan:
1. Kazakhstan is 103 times larger than Rwanda
With a population of just over 20 million, Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world by land area, covering 2.725 million square kilometres.
Considering the fact that the area of Rwanda is 26,338 square kilometres, this makes Kazakhstan 103 times larger than the “The Land of a Thousand Hills”.
Kazakhstan is the largest landlocked country. It has no coastlines but it still boasts vast steppes, deserts, and mountainous regions, and has one of the lowest population densities at around 7.4 people per square kilometre.
2. Home to world’s largest steppe
Kazakhstan is home to some breathtaking landscapes, from the vast steppes to mountain ranges. About 60% of Kazakhstan’s land is covered by steppe – a vast, treeless plain, making it one of the most iconic landscapes of the country.
The Kazakh Steppe, also known as the Great Steppe or Great Dala, is a vast region – covering approximately 804,450 square kilometres – of open grassland in Central Asia, covering areas in northern Kazakhstan and adjacent areas of Russia. It is one of the largest continuous stretches of flat, semi-arid grassland in the world.
3. Rich cultural heritage and diverse ethnicity
The population of Kazakhstan exceeds 20 million people. It is a multi-ethnic country with 130 ethnic groups. The largest ethnic group, the Kazakhs, is about 71% of the population.
But there are significant minorities of Russians, Uzbeks, Uighurs, and Ukrainians, and others.
4. Astana
Astana is the capital city of Kazakhstan. In 2019, the city briefly adopted the name Nur-Sultan in honour of former president Nursultan Nazarbayev, but it returned to the name Astana in 2022.
Designed with futuristic architecture and urban planning, Astana often described as a “city of the future” has attracted international attention for its cutting-edge buildings and urban development.
A symbol of modernity and ambitious development, the city which was officially made the capital in 1997, is known for its futuristic architecture, including the Bayterek Tower, a monument and observation tower popular with foreign visitors and locals. Astana is also home to Khan Shatyr, a giant tent-shaped shopping and entertainment center known for being the world’s largest tent-shaped building, and the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation, or the Pyramid of Peace and Accord, a 62-metre-high pyramid that serves as a non-denominational national spiritual centre and event venue.
5. Baikonur Cosmodrome
Kazakhstan is home to the Baikonur Cosmodrome, the world’s first and largest space launch facility. The Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area.
It was here that Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched into space in 1961, becoming the first human to orbit Earth.
The Cosmodrome, a cornerstone of global space exploration, served as the launching point for Sputnik 1 and Vostok 1. Sputnik was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Vostok 1 was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history. The Vostok 3KA space capsule was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12, 1961, with Gagarin aboard, making him the first human to reach orbital velocity around the Earth and to complete a full orbit around the Earth.
The launchpad used for both missions was renamed “Gagarin’s Start” in honour of Gagarin who piloted Vostok 1 and became the first human in outer space.
6. Unique cuisine
By and large, Kazakh cuisine – which reflects the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the people – is heavily based on meat, dairy, and grains. The traditional food of the Kazakh people is focused on mutton and horse meat, as well as various milk products. The country is famous for its mutton, beef, and horse meat dishes, with beshbarmak, or besbarmaq, a dish of boiled horse or mutton meat and pasta, being the national dish.
Also called “five fingers” because of the way it is eaten, it is the most popular Kazakh dish, and the national dish of Kazakhstan.
Another delicacy is kumis, a fermented drink made from mare’s milk. Made by fermenting raw unpasteurized mare’s milk for several days, often while stirring or churning, kumis is a traditional, fermented dairy drink made from mare’s milk, primarily consumed in Central and East Asian steppes.
Often referred to as airag, kumis is considered an alcoholic beverage though it is neither made from fruit nor from grain.
7. Thriving economy driven by natural resources
There are more than 5,000 deposits of mineral resources in the country which is ranked first in the world on explored reserves of zinc, tungsten and barite, second – on silver, lead and chromites, third – on copper and fluorite, fourth – on molybdenum, and sixth – on gold. Kazakhstan also has significant oil and gas resources and holds the 9th place in the world in proven oil reserves, most of which are located in the western regions. The country’s uranium and coal deposits are the second and the eighth largest in the world, respectively.
Kazakhstan is among the world’s top 10 exporters of grain and is one of the leaders in flour export. Nearly 70% of arable land in the north of the country is occupied by grain and industrial crops – wheat, barley, millet. Rice, cotton, and tobacco are cultivated in the south. Kazakhstan is also famous for its gardens, vineyards and melons. Livestock farming is another leading area of agriculture in the country.
8. The Silk Road
Kazakhstan has long been part of the Silk Road, the historic trade route that connected China to Europe.
The country’s strategic location facilitated cultural and economic exchanges, and it is home to ancient cities like Otrar and Taraz, which were important trading hubs in medieval times.
9. Astounding natural beauty
Kazakhstan is known for its diverse landscapes, which include towering mountains like the Tian Shan and Altai, vast deserts like the Kyzylkum, and stunning lakes such as Lake Balkhash and Lake Zaysan, and Aral Sea.
It also has unique ecosystems like the Charyn Canyon, one of the most talked about highlights of the country’s Almaty region, offering a variety of opportunities for nature lovers and adventurers. The Altai Mountains in the east are also known for their scenic beauty and biodiversity.
10. Language and script changes
In October 2017, a presidential decree in Kazakhstan ordered a phased transition from the Cyrillic alphabet, a writing system used primarily in Slavic and other Eurasian languages, to the Latin alphabet for writing Kazakh.
The change is aimed at modernizing the country and aligning with global trends.
