1) On August 9, 1991, a global event took place in Kazakhstan. By the decree of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site was closed, where 468 nuclear explosions have been carried out since 1949
2) On December 1, 1991, Kazakhstanis elected the First President of the country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, ten days later he officially took office
3) On March 2, 1992, Kazakhstan became a full member of the UN
Video of N. Nazarbayev's first speech at the UN:
https://www.facebook.com/AkordaPress/videos/902368856574167/
4) On November 15, 1993, the national currency «Tenge» was introduced for the first time. The first batch of money was printed at an English factory and within a week was transported to Kazakhstan on Il-86 aircraft in the strictest secrecy.
5) In 1993, the First President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, established the Bolashak International Scholarship, which provides an opportunity for talented Kazakh youth to receive education abroad at the expense of the state. At the dawn of independence, Kazakhstan needed highly qualified personnel who were to carry out further reforms.
6) In 1994, Talgat Musabayev, the first cosmonaut of independent Kazakhstan, flew into space. It was thanks to him that our flag and coat of arms appeared for the first time in space. On July 1 - November 4, 1994, he flew on the Soyuz TM-19 spacecraft to the Mir orbital complex as a flight engineer for the EO-16 crew.
7) In 1994, an ambitious decision was made by the First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev to move the capital from Almaty to the then provincial Akmola. In 1998, there was the presentation of the new capital of Astana (now the city of Nur-Sultan) to the World.
8) On August 30, 1995, the Constitution of Kazakhstan was adopted at a national referendum. This day is a public holiday - the Day of the Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
9) In 1995, on the initiative of Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan was created. Its goal is to ensure social and political harmony in the country.
10) In September 2001, an unprecedented event took place: just two weeks after the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, when the whole world was preparing for a clash of Islamic and Christian civilizations, Pope John Paul II visited Kazakhstan.
11) In autumn 2003, the first Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions was held in Astana (now is Nur-Sultan). Great diplomatic work was carried out in order to bring together the leaderships of different confessions at one round table. Since then, the Congress has been held in the capital of Kazakhstan every three years, with the exception of the current year. Due to the pandemic, the Congress has been postponed until 2022.
12) One of the first peaks of Kazakh diplomacy was the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the holding of the OSCE summit in Astana in December 2010. Kazakhstan became the first country in the CIS to receive the chairmanship of the OSCE and to organize a high level meeting. At that summit OSCE leaders considered the possibility of an indivisible security system from Vancouver to Vladivostok.
13) In January-February 2011, Kazakhstan hosted the 7th Asian Winter Games for the first time on its territory. Competitions were held in two cities - Astana and Almaty, where athletes from 26 countries arrived. Kazakhstan at the 2011 Asian Games took the first team place, having won 32 gold, 21 silver and 17 bronze medals.
14) In 2016, our country was for the first time elected to the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for the period 2017-2018. Thus, Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian state to be elected to the most authoritative UN body and contributed to strengthening the Central Asian agenda at the UN Security Council.
15) In 2017, the capital of Kazakhstan Astana (now Nur-Sultan) hosted the International Specialized Exhibition EXPO-2017, dedicated to the Future Energy. Over 100 countries from different parts of the world took part in the Exhibition.
16) On July 5, 2018, the Astana International Financial Center (AIFC) was opened, which today plays a key role as a regional center for business and finance, linking the economies of the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, the EAEU, Western China, Mongolia, the Middle East and Europe. More than 750 foreign and local companies are currently registered in the AIFC.
17) In 2016, a special economic zone «Khorgos – Eastern Gate» was launched in Kazakhstan, which is considered as a strategic object for creating a logistics hub connecting China, Central Asia and the Middle East. Favorable location, tax incentives, application of innovative technologies and versatility of the world's largest dry port make Kazakhstan the main link in the transit of goods from Asia to Europe.
18) Stability and peace in Kazakhstan, progressive economic development, deep political and social reforms aimed at democratizing the country, a favorable investment climate have become the key to Kazakhstan's success in attracting foreign direct investment. During the years of Independence, the inflow of FDI amounted to about 350 billion US dollars. Over the past five years, Kazakhstan has attracted an average of about 21.3 billion US dollars annually.