Two Kazakh entrepreneurs are bringing the first ever taste of Kazakhstan to Hong Kong later this month in Central, said the Consul-General of Kazakhstan, Bauyrzhan Dosmanbetov, ahead of the Belt and Road Summit taking place on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Halal restaurant will be introducing the country’s classics like horse meat, camel and horse milk, as well as plov, or pilaf, to the local palate and prepared by a native chef. He revealed one of the owners was a former university student in Hong Kong that ended up staying in the city.
Plov, or pilaf (Reuters)
According to Dosmanbetov, universities in Hong Kong remain one of the top choices for young Kazakh students, with most choosing to pursue STEM degrees, as well as those centering around IT, finance or international relations.
Bauyrzhan Dosmanbetov with his son uring his first term in Hong Kong.
Efforts are also being made to boost tourism between both regions. Discussions and planning regarding the resumption of direct flights between Hong Kong and Kazakhstan, which were cancelled due to the pandemic, are now underway. As many as 16 flights would be available per week.
Mainland China and Hong Kong are frequent travel destinations for a lot of Kazakhs. With direct flights from the region to Guangzhou, Urumqi, Shanghai, Xi’an and Beijing, making the convenient and short trip from Guangzhou to Hong Kong is always on the checklist for Kazakhs.
They tend to shop for furniture in Foshan and make their way to Hong Kong for luxury shopping and visiting popular tourist spots like Disneyland and the Peak, usually spending two to three nights in the city. Hongkongers, meanwhile, usually travel to Central Asia after visiting Urumqi.
Additionally, Dosmanbetov mentioned adopting an approach focused on creating “lasting people-to-people connections,” including the showing of the Kazakh film Tomiris at the Asean Film Festival in Hong Kong last month.
As a major resource-rich nation and the ninth largest country in the world, Kazakhstan has also looked to strengthen economic ties with Hong Kong. For instance, the world’s first Hong Kong and Kazakhstan dual-listed company took place last month.
Additionally, a Hong Kong-based company successfully registered the first offshore yuan-backed stablecoin in Astana, designed specifically to facilitate trade settlement between Kazakhstan and China, while several more SAR companies are expected to launch similar stablecoins in future.
Earlier, Kazakhstan’s Development Bank, DBK, issued a landmark 2 billion yuan (HK$2.19 billion) dim sum bond in Hong Kong, the first from a Central Asian state-owned issuer.
Before returning as consul general earlier this summer, Dosmanbetov worked in Hong Kong back in 2007 as a consul member. Now, he notes while a lot has changed since his last tenure ended in 2009, the most striking developments are in infrastructure, including new tunnels, bridges, and border points with the mainland, alongside noting that the city has become more international, with more expatriates and a population that now speaks significantly better English and Mandarin.
During his previous stay, his family lived in the city for three years, with his eldest son studying at an international school at the time and his daughter is now a student there, too.
Dosmanbetov’s post as the consul general in Hong Kong is his sixth appointment and his second one in the SAR, which he said he appreciates the most because of his own ties to Asia.
Read More: How to hit the trail in Central Asia
While Central Asian countries may not make it to a lot of Hongkongers’ travel bucket lists, Kazakhstan has much to offer for tourists both historically and architecturally through its former capital Almaty, which is considered the most beautiful city in the country, and its newly established cutting edge modern capital Astana.
Baiterek Tower in Astana, Kazakhstan.
