´óÏó´«Ã½

The president of Kazakhstan has apparently suggested changing the country's name, saying the "stan" at the end puts off tourists and discourages investors.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev floated Kazak Eli - or Kazakh Nation - as a possible alternative, the Interfax-Kazakhstan news agency says. "Foreigners show interest in Mongolia, whose population is just two million people, and its name lacks the suffix 'stan'," he told a gathering of intellectuals, the website .

The huge, resource-rich nation has been through several rounds of name-changing already. In 1993, the capital Alma Ata became Almaty. Then four years later, the capital was moved across the country to an entirely different place called Akmola. In 1998, a year later, that city's name was changed to Astana.

But don't expect Kazakhstan to rename itself any time soon. Mr Nazarbayev - who has held power since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 - says such a change would only come about after a discussion with the people.

Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via .