On 18–19 February, the Almaty Air Initiative team visited Kathmandu, Nepal.

During the visit, we held the inaugural Kathmandu Clean Air Dialogue — an expert roundtable dedicated to the future of clean air in the country. We were deeply honoured to welcome Madhav Prasad Chaulagain, Minister of Forests and Environment of Nepal, who since January 2026 has also been serving as Acting Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.

Kathmandu shares many similarities with Almaty. It is a city nestled at the foot of the mountains, where geography dramatically intensifies the problem of winter smog.

According to official data, air pollution causes more than 48,500 premature deaths in Nepal every year. Yet this is not only a public-health crisis. In today’s global competition for talent, investment and innovation, air quality has become a key indicator of a country’s sustainability and competitiveness.

Together with leading experts — Rajesh Gautam, Hasana Shrestha, Roshani Giri, Bhushan Tuladhar and Dr Rejina Maskey Byanju — we examined the issue of air pollution from scientific, political and societal perspectives.

Nepal is currently experiencing a heightened demand for transparency and real change. In such moments, clean air becomes one of the most objective measures of whether leadership is truly acting in the interests of its people.

This trip marks an important milestone for us.

Almaty Air Initiative is stepping onto the international stage under the new brand Taza Initiative.

Our global expansion begins in Nepal. We are bringing to Kathmandu not just an idea, but a proven technology of monitoring and dialogue that has already demonstrated its effectiveness in Almaty.

We chose the name Taza to preserve our Kazakh roots: in the Kazakh language, the word means “clean”. Symbolically, in Nepali it means “fresh”.

Over the coming months we will focus on building a local team, deepening the analysis of pollution sources, jointly developing policy solutions and launching public-engagement programmes.

The launch of Taza Initiative is a strategic step towards scaling the model that has been successfully tested in Almaty: independent civic monitoring, greater data transparency, scientific analysis of pollution sources, and constructive dialogue between society, business and government.

At the same time, Almaty Air Initiative will continue its work in Kazakhstan, while Taza Initiative develops the international direction.

This is the first step towards restoring the right to clean air for residents of the world’s most polluted cities.

We are especially proud that a Kazakh initiative has become a source of positive change in the world.

The entire team and I are incredibly inspired by the new challenges ahead!