Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest nations, is sparsely populated. The news last week that the population of Kazakhstan had reached nineteen million was therefore a source of joy for the whole country.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated all Kazakh citizens on this event on his Twitter account. “In the year of the 30th anniversary of Independence, the population of Kazakhstan reached the historical milestone. Zhaniya Azamatkyzy from the Almaty region became the 19 millionth citizen. The girl is the fourth child in a family. I congratulate parents and all Kazakh citizens on this event,” the president wrote.
Kazakhstan is currently going through a period of rapid change as President Tokayev pushes forward a number of reforms and tries to stir a more independent foreign policy, despite the fact that Kazakhstan, a land locked country, is often seen as being sandwiched between China and Russia.
Speaking at a summit of Central Asian states held in Turkmenistan on Friday (6 August), President Tokayev said Central Asia should operate as “a connecting bridge between Asia and Europe.” Kazakhstan is consistently developing the transit capabilities of the Trans-Caspian international transport corridor, he added.
The second tracks will be built and the Dostyk-Moiynty railway section will be electrified by 2025. As a result, the throughput of the corridor will increase fivefold. The Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway provides the shortest route to the countries on the Persian Gulf. The flow of containers along the trans-Caspian routes has increased more than 13 times over the past three years. Kazakhstan plans to create a container hub at the Aktau port and attract the world’s leading operators including Cosco, Maersk, CMA CGM and other companies.
“The country is open for mutually beneficial cooperation in the development of transport communications within the region,” Tokayev told the gathering of Central Asian leaders.
