Kazakhstan shapes its new technological agenda

ASTANA, March 25 (Qazinform/APP) : As part of the Nauryznama decade, Kazakhstan marks the Day of Renewal, which this year focuses on digital transformation. Various technological exhibitions and presentations of innovative projects are being held countrywide, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, marking a new stage in the nation’s modernization.
According to the AI and Digital Development Ministry, more than 200,000 people are working in the sector, including 20,000 AI specialists. Over the next five years, 1 million citizens are expected to get digital skills. In 2025, more than 900,000 people completed training programs, gaining both basic and applied competencies.
To note, the AI Governance 500 strategic program was launched to create a pool of digital officer, leaders tasked to implement AI based on a unified data architecture and processes.
Over the past seven years, the number of residents at the Astana Hub international IT startup park reached 1,875, with a combined revenue hitting 4.3 billion US dollars. At the working meeting on the Digital Qazaqstan project, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev revealed exports of Kazakhstan’s IT services are set to approach 1 billion US dollars.
He also highlighted the importance of advancing digital payments. The National Bank has introduced interbank QR payments, transfers, and settlements using the digital tenge. While legislation requires all banks to connect to this infrastructure, the largest banks have been slow to comply.
Minister Zhaslan Madyiev reported that all 54 government services in the construction sector were fully automated. Work is also underway on a system for early forecasting of water consumption, including a unified database of irrigation infrastructure in southern regions, updated boundaries of irrigated land, and remote sensing technologies for monitoring farmland.
It should be noted, Kazakhstan also invests in satellite internet. Last year, an agreement was signed with Amazon Kuiper, while Starlink and OneWeb entered the Kazakh market. The Generation Nation initiative attracted tens of thousands of schoolchildren and students to study artificial intelligence, robotics, and programming.
This year, Kazakhstan unveiled its national supercomputer cluster Alem.Cloud, capable of performing in one second the equivalent of work that would take 8 billion people four days to complete. The project was developed in partnership with Presight, a technology company from the UAE’s G42 group.
In addition, Kazakhstan signed an agreement with NVIDIA and Freedom Holding Corp. to establish an independent artificial intelligence center.
Alem.Cloud’s resources are available to universities, research centers, and companies working with AI. Last November, Alem.Cloud ranked 86th in the international list of the world’s most powerful computing systems.
As part of the Year of Digitalization and AI, Kazakhstan also launched the alem.ai battle, a national competition designed to support and develop AI talent across the country.