KAZAKHSTAN AND CHINA RESUME DIRECT FLIGHTS FROM JULY 1

Kazakhstan suspended regular passenger air transportation with China in February 2020 in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.

“According to the relevant agreements between the Chinese and Kazakh sides, direct commercial flights between the two countries in both directions will resume on July 1,” the embassy said in a statement.

It is explained that passengers traveling from Kazakhstan to China need to go through a series of procedures. So, before departure, they must spend 10 days in self-isolation, independently monitor their health and sign an appropriate letter of guarantee.

In addition, within 48 hours before departure, they need to pass two PCR tests, the second of which must be passed the day before departure. The analyzes must be taken in two different laboratories designated by the Embassy and the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China. An additional antigen test must be completed within 12 hours prior to departure.

KAZAKHSTANI BEGAN TO FLY MORE

According to the Bureau of National Statistics, in January-May 2022, 3.6 million people were transported by air, which is 7.7% more than in the same period last year, Zakon.kz reports.

Passenger turnover in the same period amounted to 5,877.1 million per p-km, which is 20% more than in the corresponding period of 2021. At the same time, the main share of transported air passengers falls on the city of Almaty – 2.5 million passengers.

 The income of enterprises from the transportation of passengers amounted to 157 billion 650 million tenge.

CHINA WILL CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY OF PROVIDING A VISA FREE REGIME TO KAZAKHSTANI

China will consider the possibility of granting a visa-free regime to Kazakhstanis, the Central Communications Service (CCC) reports.

“China will consider the possibility of providing a visa-free regime for citizens of Kazakhstan,” the CCS said on Monday following a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev and China’s Minister of Culture and Tourism Hu Heping.

During the meeting, the parties discussed issues of further strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties and developing cooperation in the field of tourism.

“Nuryshev focused the interlocutor’s attention on the need to intensify the bilateral cultural and humanitarian dialogue, taking into account the imminent resumption of regular air traffic and the intensification of human contacts. As the Ambassador of Kazakhstan noted, a powerful impetus to the development of bilateral relations in this direction will be given by the mutual establishment of cultural centers in the Republic of Kazakhstan and China,” the message says.

In addition, Nuryshev acquainted the interlocutor with the tourism opportunities of Kazakhstan and the measures of the Kazakh government to implement the state program for the development of tourism until 2025. Also, the ambassador, taking into account the plans of the Kazakh side to introduce a visa-free regime for citizens of China for a period of 14 days, raised the issue of providing similar conditions for citizens of Kazakhstan.

For his part, Hu Heping emphasized that between Kazakhstan and China there are great prospects for cooperation in the field of culture and tourism. He expressed confidence that the 15th meeting of the subcommittee on cultural and humanitarian cooperation of the Kazakh-Chinese cooperation committee, scheduled for the end of 2022, will play an important role in strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between the two countries.

 “At the same time, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China highly appreciated the measures taken by the government of Kazakhstan to unlock the country's tourism potential, and also expressed the readiness of the Chinese side for the mutual establishment of cultural centers. At the end of the meeting, the parties agreed to maintain close contacts between the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the PRC and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the PRC, including on the issues of holding joint events in the field of culture and tourism within the framework of the SCO, CICA and an action plan to implement the agreements following the results of the online summit of the states “Central Asia-China,” the CCS added.