BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 21. Under President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, digitalization has become one of the main
areas of Kazakhstan’s state policy. In 2026, declared the Year of
Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, the country is
simultaneously developing the use of AI, computing capacity,
specialist training, and digital infrastructure.
For Astana, technological development is not linked to one
particular sector. Digital solutions are now being introduced in
public services, education, energy, industry, transport, logistics,
agriculture and the financial sector.
The government has approved an action plan for the
implementation of the Digital Qazaqstan strategy until 2029. In
education, as part of the AI-SANA program, the goal is to ensure
that at least 80% of graduates of schools, colleges and
universities have basic AI skills by 2029. By 2028, artificial
intelligence technologies are expected to be used in at least 80%
of universities and colleges.
This approach is particularly important for Kazakhstan, given
the scale of its territory and economy. Digital technologies make
it possible to manage infrastructure more efficiently, process
large amounts of data faster, and reduce decision-making time.
In the energy sector, Kazakhstan plans to connect at least 70%
of its assets to digital monitoring by 2029. In the transport
sector, digital cargo passports, end-to-end tracking and
intelligent analysis of transport corridors are envisaged. For
businesses, digital assessment and risk-based supervision are
planned to be expanded, while tax administration is expected to
become largely automated.
At the same time, Kazakhstan is also investing in the foundation
for the development of artificial intelligence. The country already
has the national supercomputing cluster Alem. Cloud and
Kazakhtelecom’s commercial supercomputer. IT exports have reached
$1.1 billion, while one of the largest new projects is the Data
Center Valley, with a target capacity of up to 1 GW. Potential
demand for its capacity already exceeds 500 MW.
This is one of the most important elements of Kazakhstan’s
current digital policy. Artificial intelligence requires not only
software and specialists. Its development requires computing
capacity, data centers, reliable communication channels, and
sufficient power supply. Therefore, the creation of such
infrastructure simultaneously creates conditions for the emergence
of new technology projects and the attraction of international
companies.
Tokayev is also paying attention to this area in foreign policy.
During the president's recent state visit to South Korea,
Kazakhstan reached agreements on cooperation in unmanned aviation,
urban air mobility and digital management of low-altitude airspace.
The agreements envisage the transfer and localization of
technologies, as well as data processing in Kazakhstan.
In the space sector, Kazakhstan and South Korean companies
agreed to cooperate in satellite manufacturing, the processing of
Earth remote sensing data and its commercialization. A separate
agreement provides for the acquisition of satellite data to monitor
methane emissions at oil and gas facilities.
The practical impact of digitalization is already visible in the
work of government agencies. As Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Trade
and Integration, Asset Nusupov said in an interview with Trend, AI is being used in
the National Goods Catalog to process hundreds of thousands of
applications. According to him, 749,000 applications were at the
moderation stage, which the system processes automatically. He also
said that Kazakhstan is in the process of implementing an AI agent
for the attribute-based classification of the Common Classifier of
Goods, Works and Services (OKTRU). It independently analyzes vast
amounts of technical specifications, matches product positions, and
creates and verifies nomenclature cards.
At the same time, Regional Head in Central Asia and Africa at
Binance, Kyrylo Khomyakov, told Trend in an interview that Kazakhstan’s investments in
artificial intelligence, data processing infrastructure and
computing capacity create opportunities for broader cooperation
between global technology companies and the local ecosystem.
All this shows that Tokayev’s digital agenda is being built in
several areas at once: personnel training, AI development, the
creation of computing infrastructure and the introduction of
technologies into the real economy. This is particularly relevant
for Kazakhstan at a time when the country’s competitiveness
increasingly depends on its ability to work effectively with data
and rapidly implement new technologies.
In the coming years, the outcome of this policy will be
determined not by the number of announced digital projects, but by
how widely technologies will be used in the economy and how strong
a domestic technological base Kazakhstan will be able to create.
Given the current pace of development of digital infrastructure and
AI, this area is becoming one of the important elements of
Tokayev’s long-term policy of modernizing the country.
