Inside Kazakhstan's push to become a regional AI centre

Inside Kazakhstan's push to become a regional AI centre Share Inside Kazakhstan's push to become a regional AI centre on social media A young woman in a sleek bun and a jacket with Kazakh patterns smiles from the screen at a directors' meeting of Samruk-Kazyna, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund. In late 2025, she became the company's newest board member. In Kazakhstan, AI is the new talk of the town, and part of its new branding and modernisation agenda to improve public services, attract investment and diversify the economy beyond reliance on raw materials. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared 2026 the "Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence" to introduce advanced technologies in all sectors of the economy, develop skills, startups and Kazakh-language technologies. In 2025, the government created a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and last month, it approved an action plan through 2029 that includes promoting AI literacy in schools and universities, digitalising healthcare, public services, tax collection and the energy sector.