Capital's move to Astana one of historical landmarks in Kazakhstan's history

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ASTANA. KAZINFORM 21 years ago, on the 10th of December 1997, the city of Akmola has officially been declared Kazakhstan's new capital and later renamed into Astana. The historic decision to move the capital from Almaty to Akmola was made by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Kazakhstan on July 6, 1994.

Addressing the deputies at the Parliamentary session, the Head of State Nursultan Nazarbayev explained the need for the move and noted that the choice was made based on 32 criteria. After a heated discussion the members of the Parliament made a decision to support the President's initiative.

On July 6, 1996, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan adopted a resolution "On the Transfer of the Capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan".

On October 20, 1997, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan issued a decree declaring the city of Akmola the new capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan starting December 10, 1997. The official presentation of the city of Akmola as the new capital was scheduled for June 10, 1998.
The state symbols of the Republic of Kazakhstan were delivered to Akmola on November 8, 1997.

During these days the first group of the Executive Office, Government, Ministries, and departments staff arrived in the new capital.

In his book In the Heart of Eurasia President Nazarbayev notes that he personally wished good luck to the staff of the Executive Office moving to Akmola and highlighted the importance of the move of the capital which opened the new page of the power reform in Kazakhstan. Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed that a new generation of civil servants will form in the new capital and that this would, first of all, involve the central state bodies.

On December 10, 1997, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan together with the heads of the Government and Parliament signed an appeal to the people of Kazakhstan, which was published in the press.

It said that from this day the most important decisions will be made in the new center of Kazakhstan.

On the same day, the Head of State appointed Adilbek Dzhaksybekov as Akim (mayor) of Astana.

Today, Astana is an international center in Eurasia that hosts various global forums, congresses, and other events.

To name just a few of them, in 2010 the city hosted the OSCE Summit, which led to a significant restructuring of the organization's activities.
Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, as well as Astana Economic Forum, are regularly held here as well.

In 2011, Astana jointly with Almaty held the 7th Winter Asian Games and last year - the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017.

Today Astana with the population exceeding one million consists of four districts-Saryarka, Almaty, Yessil, and Baikonur. In 1999, the young capital of Kazakhstan was awarded the medal and the high title of the City of Peace by UNESCO. Since 2000, Astana has been a member of the International Assembly of Capital and Major Cities.

The Baiterek Monument is the main attraction of the Kazakh capital. The Palace and Peace and Reconciliation, the Khan Shatyr shopping mall, KazMunaiGas and Kazakh Temir Zholy buildings appeared on the map of Astana throughout these 21 years.

Astana also boasts state-of-the-art sports facilities, including a 30,000-seat Astana Arena, a 10,000-seat Saryarka cycle track, the Alau ice palace, which host international sport events.

Starting from January 2017, Astana has become the platform for the International Meeting on Syria and greatly contributed to the peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis.

 

 

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