Roman Sklyar, Vice Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan, answers questions from the Kazakhstan magazine.

The telecommunication sector is a key component of the infrastructure complex. Saken Sarsenov, Vice Minister of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan, shares with the Kazakhstan magazine the current situation in the sector and what objectives the Government sets before the sector for its further development.

Chairman of Kazakhtelecom JSC Kuanyshbek Yessekeyev answers our questions.

In early July the capital of Kazakhstan has once again hosted the annual meeting of miners and metallurgists from all over the world. More than 1,150 representatives from 24 countries took part in the work of the third International Mining and Metallurgy Congress named Astana Mining & Metallurgy 2012 to discuss a wide range of issues facing the industry: from exploration, mining and ore processing to metal working and production of finished goods.

Kazakhstan Aluminium Smelter (KAS), ENRC’s flagship of the Kazakhstan aluminium industry, is launching its own anode production. The presentation of the new facility is scheduled as part of the Nineth Forum of Inter-regional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan, to be held in Pavlodar on 19 September 2012. Felix Vulis, ENRC CEO, updates us on how this fits into ENRC’s strategy.

Although in the first half of 2012 the main macroeconomic indicators of Kazakhstan showed an upward trend, it will be unlikely to repeat last year's growth of 7.5%. This is due to a lower industrial output and the expected decline in agricultural produce this year, against the backdrop of last year's high harvest of grain. However, the growth of the domestic economy, following the end of the year, is likely to be around 5%.