ASTANA – The Astana Times has selected articles from global media outlets covering Kazakhstan. This week’s foreign media digest covers the upcoming Belgian royal visit, Kazakhstan’s newly recognized UNESCO heritage sites, Japan-funded Caspian Sea monitoring and more.
King Philippe’s state visit to Kazakhstan to open new chapter in bilateral ties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium will pay a state visit to Kazakhstan on Oct. 12-14, marking the first state visit by a European monarch to a Central Asian country and a historic milestone in 35 years of diplomatic relations, reported Paris Match on Oct.
6. The royal visit will bring a delegation of around 110 people, including four ministers, 25 business leaders and seven university rectors. The program will cover Astana and Almaty, with discussions focused on critical raw materials, transport connectivity, investment, energy, innovation, artificial intelligence and academic cooperation.
The visit is expected to give new momentum to bilateral ties as Belgium seeks to diversify its international partnerships and strengthen engagement with Central Asia. Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot described Kazakhstan as a strategically important country located at the crossroads of major geopolitical and economic routes.
“Central Asia is a strategically important region and opens real opportunities for Belgium,” Prévot said, highlighting Kazakhstan’s critical raw materials and its role in regional energy and transport networks. He also announced plans to open Belgium’s embassy in Uzbekistan next year and tour all Central Asian countries in 2027.
The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, or the Middle Corridor, is expected to be an important element of bilateral cooperation. The route connects Asia and Europe through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus and Türkiye. According to the information provided ahead of the visit, freight volumes along the corridor have increased fivefold over six years, from 0.8 million tons to 4.1 million tons annually, with a target of 10 million tons.
Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Belgium Roman Vassilenko described Belgium as an important partner in the European Union, while noting the potential for cooperation in logistics, port infrastructure, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, science and green technologies. King Philippe previously visited Kazakhstan three times as Crown Prince, including trips to Baikonur in 2002 and 2009 and an economic mission in 2010.