Central Asia’s largest tech and AI show will debut in Almaty next week, catapulting Kazakhstan to the forefront of the region’s AI and digital transformation ambitions, and propelling a new era of global innovation, tech capital deployment, and cross-border collaboration, the Kazakh Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has announced. In the Year of
On April 25, in Bishkek, energy and water ministers of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan discussed ensuring the sustainable and coordinated operation of Central Asia’s water and energy systems during the upcoming 2026 growing season. The meeting focused on mutual obligations of each country. The ministers noted the historical interconnectedness of national energy systems, with
At its 82nd session in Bangkok last week, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP), by consensus of its 52 member States, approved a resolution on the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Digital Solutions Centre for Sustainable Development in Almaty, the Kazakh Foreign Ministry said. According to Kazakhstan’s Permanent
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has formed a regional investment portfolio in the field of climate and ecology in Central Asia and intends to expand it, Evgeny Vinokurov, Deputy Chairman of the Bank’s Management Board, said at the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 in Astana on April 22. For 20 years, the Eurasian Development Bank has
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy and Karaganda Wind Power LLP, a Kazakh-Chinese joint venture, have signed an investment agreement for the construction of a 500 MW wind farm in the Karaganda region. The signing took place on the sidelines of the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana last week. Investment in the project will total $645 million.
On 23 April, high-level representatives of the European Union, its EU Member States, the Central Asian countries and international financial institutions convened in Astana, Kazakhstan, for the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) High-Level Meeting on Water, Energy and Climate Change in Central Asia, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan reported. Participants
KazFoodProducts Holding has launched commercial production of BI-95 motor fuel, produced using bioethanol from grain. This is the first project in Kazakhstan where agricultural product undergoes a full deep processing cycle and is then marketed as motor fuel, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. BI-95 is already available at gasoline stations. Bioethanol is produced at
On April 22, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev took part in a meeting of the Council of the Heads of Founder States of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS). The event, chaired by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was also attended by President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Japarov, President of Tajikistan Emomali
At the Regional Environmental Summit (RES) in Astana on April 22, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kazakhstan and the NBSAP Accelerator Partnership, convened a high-level plenary session titled “Central Asia Initiative – Harmony with Nature for Sustainable Development of the Region,”
The Regional Ecological Summit 2026 (RES), under the theme “A Shared Vision for a Sustainable Future,” has commenced in the capital of Kazakhstan. The event is aimed at developing a comprehensive policy framework and practical instruments for the protection, restoration and shared use of ecosystems, water and land resources, as well as for the conservation
The Kazakhstan Low-Altitude Economy (KazLAE) Industrial Research Center was officially opened at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Almaty on April 17. The Center was designed as an innovative platform for developing unmanned aviation, aero-mobility, and intelligent control systems. It will develop digital solutions, conduct joint research in artificial intelligence and industrial technologies, and train highly
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) sees the Central Asian warehouse infrastructure as the “opportunity of the decade” and intends to significantly increase investments in this segment, Alexey Rogachevsky, EDB Director for Uzbekistan, said at the Central Asia Warehouse Summit (CAWS 2026) on April 16 in Tashkent. Speaking at the Warehouses and Finance session, he presented
Sometimes it is not just people who leave. Entire eras pass away with them. Today we think of Mukhtar Shakhanov (born in 1942) with deep sorrow. Mukhtar-aga was someone who could never be seen simply as a poet or a public figure. He was a phenomenon. A voice of his time. And for Kazakhstan, a
Despite government measures aimed at supporting investment in Kazakhstan, Kazakhstani investors—both private and institutional—continue to channel their funds into foreign projects, ranking.kz reports based on data from the National Bank of Kazakhstan. In 2025, the outflow of direct investment abroad from Kazakhstani investors reached $2.4 billion, an increase of 30% year-on-year. In 2024, this figure
The largest number of crimes in Kazakhstan in 2025 was registered in Almaty—22,200. In Astana, the number of registered crimes was 16,000, but the capital was the “leader” in the number of crimes per 10,000 people (101.3), according to a crime rankings prepared by finprom.kz based on data from the Legal Statistics Committee of the
Kazakhstan exported IT services for a total of $1.142 billion in 2025, 2.6 times more than $429 million the country spent on the import of foreign digital solutions. According to the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, reaching $1.1 billion in export revenue is an indicator of the maturity of the country’s digital ecosystem.
Kazakhstan’s economic growth is expected to moderate in 2026 and 2027 as oil output nears peak production capacity and private demand softens, according to the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2026, released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Kazakhstan’s gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to grow at 4.8% in 2026 and 4.5% in 2027, from
As of the end of 2025, Kazakhstan’s external debt reached a record high of almost $182 billion, ranking.kz reported citing data from the National Bank. Over the year, the country’s external debt increased by a record 10.4%—the largest increase in the last 17 years. Prior to 2025, the country’s external debt dynamics were moderate, characterized
Valmont Industries, a leading global irrigation machinery manufacturer, plans to localize production of precision irrigation equipment (Valley brand) in Kazakhstan. The project was discussed on April 9 by Kazakh Agriculture Minister Aidarbek Saparov and Philipp Schmidt-Holzmann, Valmont’s Regional Vice President, Eurasia & Latin America. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Saparov emphasized that the development
At the invitation of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on April 11 arrived in Uzbekistan on a working visit. Mirziyoyev met with Tokayev in Bukhara to discuss further strengthening Uzbek-Kazakh relations of friendship, strategic partnership, and alliance. The leaders noted that regular informal regional meetings have become a