Kazakhstan to Change Its Calling Code

International Telecommunication Union has defined a new calling code for Kazakhstan as +997, according to Bagdat Musin, the minister of digital development, innovations and aerospace industry in Kazakhstan.

In the near future, everyone who receives a call from Kazakhstan will see the name of the country on his or her phone.

«In conjunction with telecommunication companies, we’ve been working on getting a new unique code for Kazakhstan since the last year.

As a result, a separate code +997 has been reserved for us by the ITU,» he wrote on Facebook.

Currently, Kazakhstan is finalizing documents on the issue and together with operators prepares a plan on how to complete the transition smoothly. 

According to the ministry, once a full transition to the new code is done, Kazakhstan will be able to manage and expand its national list of phone numbers on its own.

The agency plans to complete the transition process in January 2023. After that date, Kazakhstanis can use the new code in parallel with the old one until 2025.

As Musin noted, international calling code +7 has been assigned to Russia and Kazakhstan since the collapse of the Soviet Union. On June 17, 2006, Kazakhstan signed an agreement on using the calling code of Zone 7 designed by the ITU.

The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for all matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, making it among the oldest international organizations still in operation. On November 15, 1947, the ITU entered into an agreement with the newly created United Nations to become a specialized agency within the UN system, which formally entered into force on January 1, 1949. The ITU’s global membership includes 193 countries and around 900 business, academic institutions, and international and regional organizations.