Foreign media on Kazakhstan: Wild horses return to Kazakh plain after centuries, more nonstop flights to be added between South Korea and Kazakhstan

From the recent news of endangered wild horses returning to Kazakhstan's Golden Steppe and South Korea enhancing its cooperation with Kazakhstan, to the evolving EU-Kazakhstan relations that open new agricultural market opportunities, Kazinform News Agency provides a weekly review of Kazakhstan’s coverage in foreign mass media.

BBC: Wild horses return to Kazakh plain after centuries

BBC reports that endangered wild horses have returned to the Golden Steppe of Kazakhstan for the first time in at least 200 years after decades-long efforts.

The airlifts of seven Przewalski's Horses from Europe to the Central Asian country took place in early June in an operation run by Prague Zoo.

Researchers told the BBC that the horses are already doing well two weeks in: roaming around the plains and even beginning the mating process.

Zoo officials say it's a triumph of generations of conservation work.

“This is an endangered species returning to their ancestral lands, a species which went extinct in the wild in the 1960s, last seen in Mongolia...so it's just marvellous... a miracle,” said Filip Mašek, a spokesman for Prague Zoo.

While the horses have been slowly reintroduced to Mongolia and China in recent decades, this operation marks the first time they are back in Kazakhstan.

The Przewalski's Horse is the last wild horse species on the planet, named after Russian explorer Nikolai Przewalski who was the first to identify the horse for the European science community.

The species originated millennia ago from the steppes of Central Asia and was taken by researchers to Europe and North America in the 19th and 20th Centuries, where populations were established in zoos. Some of them ended up in zoos in Munich and Prague - it's their descendants that have now been reintroduced in Kazakhstan.

The first group of horses that came back to Kazakhstan last week consists of one stallion and six mares. It aims to bring in at least 40 more over the next five years.

“This is an event of historical import,” said the zoo's director Miroslav Bobek in a statement.

“The seven horses that we transported here by two Czech Army planes represent the first individuals of this species in central Kazakhstan in hundreds of years.”

Yonhap News Agency: S. Korea signs dozens of cooperation agreements, MOUs with Kazakhstan

Yonhap News Agency reports, South Korea and Kazakhstan signed more than 30 agreements on the sidelines of a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, pledging to cooperate in the fields of critical minerals, energy and climate change responses.

After the summit in Astana, Yoon and Tokayev attended a signing ceremony for 11 memorandums of understanding (MOUs). An additional 24 MOUs and documents were signed during a business forum involving companies and governments from both countries.

A key MOU on a critical mineral supply chain partnership between Kazakhstan and Korea will enable extensive cooperation, from exploration to usage of critical minerals. This agreement allows Korean companies to develop and produce mineral resources in Kazakhstan, a country rich in oil and minerals like uranium, chromium, and rare earth metals. Notable deals include joint exploration of lithium mines and technology cooperation for commercializing rare metals.

Additionally, the two countries have agreed to collaborate in the energy sector on projects like low-emission power generation and renewable energy. An MOU focuses on a landfill gas power project in Karasai, aiming to convert methane into electricity.

“The president’s state visit helped strengthen economic cooperation with Kazakhstan in various areas, including energy, infrastructure and critical minerals, and created a favorable business environment for Korean companies’ business bids in Kazakhstan,” the article concludes.

The Korea Herald: More nonstop flights to be added between S. Korea, Kazakhstan

According to The Korea Herald, T’way Air, a South Korean budget airline, will soon launch direct flights between Incheon and Astana, operating two or three times a week.

Also, another low-cost airline, Eastar Jet, will operate nonstop flights between Incheon and Almaty at least twice a week.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recognized the increased number of flights between Seoul and Astana as one effort to strengthen bilateral ties. Tokayev also highlighted the 30-day visa exemption agreement between South Korea and Kazakhstan that resumed in 2021, after a one-year suspension due to the pandemic.

Euractiv: Evolving EU-Kazakhstan relations offer new agriculture market opportunities

Euractiv reports that Kazakhstan has become a growing market opportunity for European agricultural food and beverage exports, underlining the emerging importance of an evolving EU-Kazakh relationship.

At the end of May 2024, Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski led a delegation of 39 agri-food businesses and organizations from across the European Union on a visit to Kazakhstan.

On his return, he took part in a Euractiv event on 5 June 2024 looking at the relationship between the EU and Kazakhstan, alongside Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Roman Vassilenko.

Both were keen to highlight how the bilateral relationship has evolved in recent years, marked by a growing emphasis on economic cooperation, political dialogue, and partnerships in various fields.

The future of EU-Kazakhstan cooperation was discussed, focusing on priorities, geopolitical climate, technology transfer, and addressing water-related challenges in Kazakhstan.

According to Janusz Wojciechowski, the visit highlighted the deepening relationship between the EU and Kazakhstan, focusing on economic cooperation and trade. The EU has become Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner in Central Asia, and the two have signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to boost agricultural trade.

Economic cooperation extends beyond agriculture, as European businesses are also interested in Kazakhstan's oil, gas, and minerals.

The Times of Central Asia: First Cargo Transported from Pakistan to Azerbaijan via Kazakhstan

The Times of Central Asia reports that a Pakistani transport and logistics company, TCS, has now completed a pilot delivery of goods from Karachi (Pakistan) to Baku (Azerbaijan) through the Caspian seaport of Aktau in Kazakhstan.

The shipment was organized with the assistance of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Islamabad, in an effort to expand Kazakhstan’s transit transport potential.

Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry announced that the transportation of Pakistani pharmaceutical products under TIR, along the 4,820 km long route through Afghanistan and Uzbekistan to Aktau and then by sea to Baku, took 21 days.

According to Pakistani logistics experts, the Trans-Afghan corridor in tandem with the Karakoram Highway, can provide significant impetus to expanding the transit and transport potential of Kazakhstan and Pakistan, with reference to the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.