The energy ministry. said Kazakhstan produced 21.1 million tonnes of oil and gas condensate in the first quarter of 2021, in compliance with the country's obligations under OPEC+ deal.

Central bank governor Yerbolat Dosayev said the introduction of new COVID-related restrictions may slow down economic growth in Kazakhstan by 0.5 percent to 3.2 percent in 2021.

“Two months have passed and less than two percent of the population has been vaccinated,” the president’s press service said he told ministers. “Delays are not an abstract problem, but a matter of national importance. We are talking here about national security, more illness and death rates, our citizens.”