Euronews has officially launched a new channel featuring content in the Kazakh language, marking a significant expansion of its strategic presence in Kazakhstan. This initiative aims to provide the network’s unique journalistic perspective to viewers in Kazakhstan and the broader Central Asian region, which is currently experiencing increasing global influence. The new service represents Euronews’ 20th linguistic offering and is the first Central Asian language to be integrated into its worldwide broadcasting network.
The launch ceremony, held in Astana on Tuesday, featured comments from Euronews chairman Pedro Vargas David, who described Kazakh as an important Eurasian and European language that now holds a significant place within the Euronews family. He emphasized that the move reflects the channel’s ambition to broaden its diverse offerings and connect European content with the Central Asian audience.
Kazakhstan’s First Vice Minister of Culture and Information, Kanat Iskakov, hailed the development as a historic milestone for the nation. He noted that while the network previously broadcast in Russian within Kazakhstan, the transition to a dedicated Kazakh language service will provide a fresh impetus for the language’s development. Iskakov added that the service would serve the nation by delivering international news through the lens of Euronews’ core values of independence, objectivity, accuracy, and fairness.
This launch follows a two-year partnership process that included the establishment of an editorial hub in Astana and an office in Almaty, which was a first for a global media entity. Euronews initially began its Central Asian expansion in 2024, opening its regional editorial hub in Astana in December of that year, followed by additional bureaus in Tashkent and Baku. These efforts are part of a broader strategy to cover significant regional developments with 14 dedicated staff.
The network’s global newsroom will now produce content for television and digital platforms, including YouTube, in the Kazakh language. Furthermore, the local team in Kazakhstan is producing current affairs programs such as Modern Nomads, East-West Connect, and Voices of Central Asia, which are broadcast globally. To further integrate its operations, the Astana bureau is currently hosting the network’s first Asian bureaus editorial seminar, bringing together teams from Qatar, the UAE, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
