Kazakhstan’s Strategic Moves in AI Diplomacy
Over the past year, artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from a specialized technological domain into the fabric of everyday life, reshaping how people work, communicate, and access information. Its diffusion across nearly all sectors of the economy has automated routine functions, reconfigured labor markets, and redefined productivity models. At the same time, AI has evolved into a structural variable in geopolitics. It now operates not merely as an innovation driver, but as a strategic asset shaping military modernization, economic competitiveness, and normative influence in global governance frameworks.
Against the backdrop of an increasingly fragmented technological order characterized by regulatory divergence, securitized supply chains, and emerging digital blocs, states are actively positioning themselves within the global AI hierarchy. In this environment, Kazakhstan has articulated a clear ambition to secure a role in the emerging AI-centered geopolitical landscape. The country’s emphasis on AI constitutes a strategic state priority rather than a short-term policy trend. Through investments in digital infrastructure, ecosystem development, and international technological partnerships, Kazakhstan aims to advance domestic modernization while strengthening its claim to regional leadership in the AI domain.
Particularly, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has consistently advocated for the advancement of artificial intelligence. He framed digitalisation and AI as “a matter of national survival,” positioning these technologies at the core of Kazakhstan’s long-term competitiveness [El.kz, 2026]. He envisions the country not merely as a participant in the global digital economy but as a Eurasian technological hub, where AI and digital transformation serve as essential instruments for securing state agency and strategic autonomy in the evolving international system. At the National Kurultai (Congress) in January 2026, Tokayev reinforced this vision, emphasizing that technological adaptation now surpasses traditional metrics, such as population size, as a determinant of national influence and resilience. He stated that digitalisation extends beyond economic modernization: it is inseparable from the preservation of national identity and cultural heritage. Moreover, by embedding Kazakhstan’s cultural legacy within the global digital civilization through the National Digital Heritage, the President frames technology as both a tool of soft power and a means of sustaining national agency in a rapidly transforming geopolitical landscape [Gov.kz, 2026a].
This narrative has been reinforced through state-of-the-nation addresses and high-level international engagements, elevating AI from innovation policy to the realm of national security and structural competitiveness. In his September 2025 address, “Kazakhstan in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Key Tasks and Their Solutions through Digital Transformation,” the President outlined an accelerated roadmap to build a “fully digital nation” within three years [Akorda, 2025]. The speech marked a transition from gradual modernization to proactive, state-led technological restructuring. He underscored that AI is no longer a distant or abstract concept, but a transformative force reshaping cognition, social interaction, and economic organization particularly among younger generations. By framing AI as a determinant of both production systems and societal worldviews, he positioned it as a structural driver of national development. The President's directive to the government was clear: ensure the comprehensive integration of AI across all sectors, from agriculture and industry to education and public administration [Akorda, 2025].
To implement this vision, Kazakhstan has undergone a rapid and comprehensive institutional restructuring. This architectural shift is designed to centralize AI policy and provide a single, authoritative point of contact for international partners, thereby enhancing the country's ‘tech-diplomatic’ efficiency.
In September 2025, Kazakhstan upgraded its institutional architecture by establishing the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. Headed by a Deputy Prime Minister–level official, the ministry is empowered to embed AI priorities across government policy. Its mandate spans the full AI lifecycle—from oversight of sovereign computing infrastructure, including the Alem and Al-Farabium supercomputers, to the rollout of national capacity-building initiatives such as the AI-Sana education program [Er10.kz, 2025].
On 17 November 2025, President Tokayev signed the Law “On Artificial Intelligence,” creating a comprehensive legal framework governing the development, deployment, and regulation of AI systems. The legislation establishes principles of security, transparency, and accountability, underscoring Kazakhstan’s proactive regulatory approach. By adopting a standalone AI law, Kazakhstan became the first country in Central Asia and only the second jurisdiction globally after the European Union to codify AI governance at this level. The AI Law introduces a risk-based classification system, categorizing AI applications as low, medium, or high risk [Gov.kz, 2026b]. From the perspective of AI diplomacy, this regulatory clarity enhances Kazakhstan’s attractiveness to international investors and technology firms by offering a predictable and standards-aligned legal environment.
The declaration of 2026 as the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence also marks a strategic inflection point in Kazakhstan’s digital transformation agenda. Rather than introducing new pilot initiatives, the policy signals a transition toward systemic institutionalization embedding AI across governance, education, industry, science, and social policy. This shift reflects a move from experimental modernization toward the consolidation of AI as state infrastructure, repositioning digital transformation from a technical reform agenda to a core element of national development and strategic autonomy.
Domestically, the establishment of the “Alem.AI” International Center for Artificial Intelligence and the expansion of the Astana Hub innovation ecosystem constitute the institutional backbone of this strategy. Launched in late 2025, Alem.AI is framed by state leadership as a “global hub” and a “factory of ideas,” designed not merely as a research facility but as a normative platform where AI technologies are developed and deployed in accordance with articulated ethical standards and governance principles. Its function extends beyond innovation: it institutionalizes AI governance capacity, providing a hybrid physical–digital environment where international researchers, startups, and government agencies collaborate on AI-driven public administration, regulatory design, and socially oriented digital solutions. In doing so, Kazakhstan positions itself not only as a technology adopter but as a participant in shaping AI governance discourse.
In October 2025, Kazakhstan further advanced its sovereign computational capacity with the launch of the second high-performance computing cluster, Al-Farabium, built on Kazakhtelecom’s platform and powered by NVIDIA H200 architecture. Delivering performance measured in tens of petaflops, the cluster operates alongside earlier systems within the unified Alem.Cloud ecosystem. The creation of this integrated computational infrastructure significantly expands nationwide access to advanced processing power for startups, universities, research institutes, and private enterprises. Strategically, this reduces dependence on external cloud providers, enhances technological sovereignty, and establishes the material foundation necessary for scaling AI research, training large language models, and deploying industrial AI solutions.
The Astana Hub International Innovation Cluster, now comprising nearly 1,900 participants including more than 470 foreign companies serves as the outward-facing dimension of Kazakhstan’s AI strategy. Functioning as both an innovation platform and a techno-diplomatic instrument, the Hub integrates economic modernization with foreign policy outreach. Its “International Agents” program effectively operates as a distributed technology diplomacy network, with representatives stationed in key global innovation centers such as Silicon Valley, London, and Dubai. These agents facilitate cross-border partnerships, venture capital flows, and technology transfer, while simultaneously branding Kazakhstan as a credible digital partner. By linking domestic innovation ecosystems with global markets, Astana Hub operationalizes a model in which digital infrastructure, diplomatic engagement, and economic diversification reinforce one another. In this sense, Kazakhstan’s AI strategy represents a dual-track approach: strengthening sovereign technological capacity internally while projecting a cooperative, standards-oriented digital identity externally [Astana Hub, 2025].
This domestic digital overhaul is inseparable from Kazakhstan’s evolving international positioning. AI diplomacy has emerged not merely as a supplementary policy track but as a central driver of Kazakhstan’s regional and transregional agenda. By embedding AI cooperation into high-level diplomatic engagements, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has elevated technological modernization to the status of a core foreign policy priority. Artificial intelligence is consistently framed in bilateral and multilateral negotiations as a strategic domain intersecting economic diversification, connectivity, and geopolitical relevance.
Tokayev’s diplomatic activism has translated into concrete technological partnerships. Cooperation with the United Arab Emirates deepened following the launch of Kazakhstan’s first national supercomputer in June 2025, developed in strategic partnership with Presight (part of the UAE-based G42 group) [Presight, 2026]. This collaboration not only expanded Kazakhstan’s computational capacity but also positioned it within a broader Gulf–Central Asia digital corridor.
During the September 2025 visit to the United States, AI and digital infrastructure were again central themes. Agreements with Amazon included a $200 million investment to expand Kazakhstan’s internet infrastructure and integrate the Project Kuiper satellite network, significantly enhancing rural connectivity and digital inclusion. Simultaneously, partnerships with NVIDIA, HP, Cisco, and Oracle collectively valued at up to $3.7 billion underpin the technological and educational ecosystem required for the implementation of the national “AI-Sana” program. These agreements illustrate how Kazakhstan leverages strategic engagement with leading U.S. technology firms to accelerate domestic capability while reinforcing its image as an open and reliable technology partner [Birbayeva, 2025a].
At the same time, Kazakhstan continues to operate as a pivotal node within China’s Digital Silk Road. During President Tokayev’s official visit to Beijing in September 2025, Kazakhtelecom and China Energy Overseas Investment signed an agreement to construct a 100 MW data center powered exclusively by renewable energy [Birbayeva, 2025b]. Envisioned as a Eurasian hub for AI infrastructure and cloud services, this facility exemplifies Kazakhstan’s effort to integrate green energy transition with digital infrastructure expansion. Moreover, Astana’s support for China’s proposal to establish a Global Organization for Cooperation in AI signals a calibrated willingness to participate in emerging multilateral AI governance frameworks led by Beijing, particularly those emphasizing technological development in the Global South.
Beyond bilateral diplomacy, Kazakhstan actively embeds AI into regional institutional frameworks. As the founder and leading force behind the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Kazakhstan has advanced the securitization and institutionalization of digital transformation within regional governance discourse. President Tokayev’s proposal to establish a CICA Council on Sustainable Connectivity reflects an attempt to link AI deployment with transport optimization, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure coordination particularly along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. By framing AI as an enabler of fair and efficient global transport systems, Kazakhstan positions itself as a technological integrator of Eurasian connectivity rather than merely a transit territory [CICA, 2025].
Within the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), Kazakhstan, together with Uzbekistan, took a leading role at the 2025 Gabala OTS Summit in promoting the strategic integration of AI into industrial modernization and green manufacturing initiatives. Their efforts extend beyond technological adoption, linking innovation to cultural and linguistic preservation: the promotion of Latin-based scripts and national languages within digital education platforms exemplifies how technological cooperation is closely intertwined with identity-building, regional influence, and soft power projection [Birbayeva, 2025c].
Taken together, these initiatives reveal a coherent dual-track strategy. Domestically, Kazakhstan invests in computational sovereignty, digital skills, and AI-enabled public administration. Externally, it converts these investments into diplomatic capital. A technologically advanced state enhances its credibility, bargaining power, and attractiveness within global markets and diplomatic networks. Digital transformation thus functions simultaneously as an internal modernization project and an external signaling mechanism. By projecting itself as an AI-ready and norm-conscious actor, Kazakhstan seeks to consolidate its role as Central Asia’s leading technological hub, attract high-tech investment flows, and participate more assertively in shaping the evolving architecture of global AI governance.
References:
Akorda (2025). President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s State of the Nation Address to the People of Kazakhstan “Kazakhstan in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Current Challenges and Solutions through Digital Transformation”. Retrieved from https://www.akorda.kz/en/president-kassym-jomart-tokayevs-state-of-the-nation-address-to-the-people-of-kazakhstan-kazakhstan-in-the-era-of-artificial-intelligence-current-challenges-and-solutions-through-digital-transformation-1083029. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Astana Hub (2025). Astana Hub in Numbers: How the International Innovation Cluster Built a $4.3 Billion Ecosystem in 7 Years. Retrieved from https://astanahub.com/en/article/astana-hub-v-tsifrakh-kak-mezhdunarodnyi-innovatsionnyi-klaster-postroil-ekosistemu-na-43-mlrd-za-7-l. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Birbayeva, Ayana (2025a). Kazakhstan to Strengthen Innovation Ties with Amazon, Meta and OpenAI. Retrieved from https://astanatimes.com/2025/09/kazakhstan-to-strengthen-innovation-ties-with-amazon-meta-and-openai/. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Birbayeva, Ayana (2025b). Kazakhstan, China to Build Advanced Green Data Center. Retrieved from https://astanatimes.com/2025/09/kazakhstan-china-to-build-advanced-green-data-center/. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Birbayeva, Ayana (2025c). President Tokayev Proposes Expanding Integration at OTS Summit. Retrieved from https://astanatimes.com/2025/10/president-tokayev-proposes-expanding-integration-at-ots-summit/. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
CICA (2025). CICA Secretary General highlights the role of artificial intelligence in sustainable connectivity at Kazakhstan Transport Week. Retrieved from https://www.s-cica.org/index.php?view=page&t=press_releases&id=2685. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
El.kz (2026). Kazakhstan bets on AI to achieve breakthrough development. Retrieved from https://el.kz/en/kazakhstan-bets-on-ai-to-achieve-breakthrough-development_400043193. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Er10.kz (2025). Why does Kazakhstan need a Ministry of AI and how will it work? Retrieved from https://er10.kz/read/analitika/zachem-kazahstanu-ministerstvo-ii-i-kak-ono-budet-rabotat. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Gov.kz (2026a). Factsheet on President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s Speech at the National Kurultai. Retrieved from https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-ljubljana/press/news/details/1145525. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Gov.kz (2026b). The Law on Artificial Intelligence has come into force in Kazakhstan. Retrieved from https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/maidd/press/news/details/1143060?lang=ru. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Presight (2026). Kazakhstan unveils first national supercomputer in strategic partnership with Presight. Retrieved from https://www.presight.ai/news/kazakhstan-unveils-first-national-supercomputer-in-strategic-partnership-with-presight/. Accessed on 10.02.2026.
Note: The views expressed in this blog are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the Institute’s editorial policy.
