A dam project helped raise water levels and increase fish stocks in the northern part of the depleted Aral Sea, offering hope of some revival in areas of one of the world's worst ecological disasters, the president of the World Bank said Thursday. The people of the Northern Aral Sea region in Kazakhstan may soon see their economy revitalized and the return of large-scale fishing and farming.

Kazakhstani head of state Nursultan Nazarbayev met with President of Japanese Diet's House of Councilors Satsuki Eda in Tokyo, expressing a desire to boost economic cooperation. Nazarbayev's visit to Japan is intended to find new ground for increasing agricultural trade and to seek Japanese support for the "rehabilitation" of the Semipalatinsk region and the Aral Sea.

Kazakhstani Prime Minister Karim Massimov had a meeting today with the heads of the CIS Commerce and Industry Chambers. Representatives from other nations, including Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Latvia were all present. The purpose of the Chamber is to build business ties among nations and increase efforts to build common economic space.

The Hydrocarbon-rich countries, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, are heading towards a close economic relationship with India. The Vice President Hamid Ansari stated that India has capacities, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan capabilities and energy is the “prime factor”.

Gazporom will begin buying gas from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan at European tariffs as of 2009 in accordance with a decision made by senior executives of Gazprom, Kazmunaigaz, Uzbekneftegaz, and Turkmengaz. Gazprom buys 55-60 billion cubic meters of gas from Central Asian countries mostly at the prices already set. East European Gas Analysis Director Mikhail Korchemkin claims that Central Asian gas will cost Gazprom about USD 8 billion this year.

Kazakhstan and the South Korean Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a USD 500 million “memorandum of understanding” acknowledging South Korea’s participation in the implementation of an energy project in Astana. The power plant is expected to be a thermal unit with a total capacity of 240 megawatts and will be based in Kazakhstan’s capital.

Kazakhstan intends to raise natural gas output from 29.6 billion cubic meters in 2007 to 114 billion cubic meters by 2020. The president of the national oil and gas company, KazMunaiGaz, said that the increase would be secured by opening new gas fields in the west of the republic as well as taking advantage of the resources in the Kazakh sectors of the Caspian shelf.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has announced a moratorium on all inspections of small and medium sized businesses. The measure will not cover companies that produce food, medicines, and products related to the safety of others. Nazarbayez contends that “controlling bodies hamper business development.” Nazarbayez compared Kazakhstan’s business environment to Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, where “entrepreneurs do not know about the presence of inspectors.”

Prices for uranium have went down from the June high of USD 136 per pound to USD 78. The supply of uranium has gone up while the demand went down. In 2007, uranium output from Kazakhstan was 6,637 tons. In 2008, the output will increase by 45 percent. Prices for the product are expected to decrease further.

Ikea has announced its plans to open stores in Kazakhstan to take advantage of the growing economy and strong consumer spending. Ikea plans to open 2 outlets in the region. Almaty and Astana were the chosen location. Ikea is seeing succeed in other former FSU regions; in Russia the company currently has 10 outlets.