Kazakhstan’s President Takes The Country Into The Tech Future

Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Frontier markets intersected frontier sectors in artificial intelligence and information technology in an unexpected place when, on September 8, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered his annual address to his country. The Kazakh leader discussed a range of emerging socio-economic issues, and he made an unprecedented announcement.

“Entirely new types of threats to human security have emerged, including those related to the use of extremely dangerous weapons powered by artificial intelligence,” the president said during his speech. “My main mission is to ensure the stable socio-economic development and security of Kazakhstan during this turbulent and dangerous time.”

Immediately after, Kazakhstan announced the creation of a ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development headed by a new expert Deputy Prime Minister. If created, it would be one of the first of its kind in the world, and the first in Eurasia. This new body aims to modernize Kazakhstan’s economy, enhance governmental institutions, and attract foreign investment in this emerging market.

The speech highlighted many other economic opportunities beyond AI and high tech that could be good news for American investors: foreign investment regime will be streamlined to cut bureaucratic red tape. Tokayev’s address made it clear that this policy represents a move away from reliance on hydrocarbons and raw materials, and towards economic diversification, which can only be realized through attracting foreign capital and technology transfers. This creates plenty of opportunities for American tech corporations and capital.

In his State of Kazakhstan speech, Tokayev also announced that his country moving beyond the first commercial nuclear reactor to build one or two more to address energy shortage due to the obsolescent thermal power stations. The international partners for Kazakhstan’s nuclear program include Russia, which will build the first reactor, as well as China, France, and Republic of Korea.

Eurasia’s AI Scramble

Landlocked between its giant neighbors, Russia and China, Kazakhstan is the world’s largest producer of uranium, has among the world’s top 15 crude oil reserves, and is likely home to one of the planet’s top three rare earth and critical mineral reserves. After only 34 years of independence from the Soviet Union, it surpassed Russia’s GDP per capita in 2025 at $14,770, topping its Central Asian neighbor states and several other countries in the post-Soviet region.

Central Asia has substantive incentives to develop close ties with Western investors, both within and beyond the AI, tech, and defense sector. It is not surprising that Kazakhstan is taking the lead on AI in the region as Kazakhstan’s dependence on plentiful raw materials and energy exports exposes it to boom-bust commodities cycles. Oil and uranium are vulnerable during export transit via Russia or China, whereas domestic clean coal and uranium can instead be used to power domestic energy-intensive endeavors, such as AI.

Kazakhstan’s president recognizes the acute competition for investors’ dollars. The very first section of Tokayev’s speech began with, “Despite intensifying global competition for capital, our country must attract large-scale investment,” before expanding upon a litany of pro-business policies to implement.

Tokayev, who is the former Foreign Minister and ex-senior UN official, noted the nexus of AI to Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. “I am confident that a balanced and constructive foreign policy, aligned with our strategic national interests, will bring significant benefits to Kazakhstan’s sustainable socio-economic development in the era of digitalisation and artificial intelligence,” the president said.

To date, there are several American tech companies that are already invested in Kazakhstan. For example, Microsoft has implemented innovative technologies across the education and aviation industries. This Western technology has allowed Kazakh children to learn remotely while using Microsoft 365 products. The aviation industry in Kazakhstan has also implemented Microsoft’s software into their systems.

Like Microsoft, Google has also made a footprint in Kazakhstan as the Central Asian country is aiming to implement AI in all aspects of its society.

Kazakhstan is not alone in this pursuit of AI in Central Asia. Tajikistan, bordering Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, has created an implementation plan for AI development in 2024. This makes sense as Tajikistan is finishing the giant Rogun hydroelectric dam, which will produce cheap electricity AI data centers are thirsty for.

Similarly, Uzbekistan announced a new plan that would incorporate AI, robotic systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles into its military, claiming this investment would help bolster the country’s “border monitoring, remote surveillance, and counterterrorism efforts.” Revealingly, the same announcement hinted at underlying geopolitical reasons by noting that AI capabilities would “offset external pressure and influence” from outside actors.

Russia has taken notice of these initiatives in Central Asia. During its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Federation has sought to adapt and expand its defense industry. Russia already dominates regional transit to the West, and thus hopes to leverage that and its defense industrial base in AI into deeper leverage. China also seeks to position itself in Central Asia through new defense technology.

In a report published by the Georgetown Security Studies Review, China is attempting to create “technological dependencies [in Central Asia] that serve both economic and strategic objectives.” China hopes supplying defense capabilities will result in the region relying on it. If this were to occur, this would further bind Central Asia to China. Like Russia, Central Asia already has economic dependency on China.

Central Asia Looks West

To safeguard their sovereignty and economic independence, Central Asian states have sought American investment to balance Russia’s and China’s AI, nuclear, and financial expansion in the region. This was apparent during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce summit in Kazakhstan on September 4. During the meeting, representatives from 25 U.S. companies met with senior government officials and representatives from Kazakhstan’s business community to discuss bolstering U.S.-Kazakhstan trade and investment. They also explored methods for diversifying Kazakhstan’s economy as well as investment opportunities.

“Central Asia, and its largest economy, Kazakhstan, is emerging as an increasingly strategic region for U.S. businesses,” said Khush Choksy, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Vice President for International Member Relations. “This historic business delegation underscores the U.S. commitment to deepening ties with Kazakhstan. We welcome ongoing U.S.-Kazakhstan trade dialogue to enhance market access.”

Outside of these efforts, CEOs from U.S. companies have also met with government officials and business leaders from Central Asia. Known as the Business Roundtable, the leaders of U.S. businesses focus on U.S. public policy and business interests.

The United States government has also been actively involved in promoting business engagements with the Central Asian states. Announced in September 2023, the Business 5+1 Forum (B5+1), an economic counterpart to the geopolitical Central Asia 5+1 Forum (C5+1), comprises all five Central Asian states, as well as the United States. It “facilitates public-private sector dialogue to foster enhanced U.S.-Central Asia economic partnership.”

The group focuses on “regional cooperation and connectivity,” providing recommendations on how to improve business operations in Central Asia and promoting economic integration and foreign investment in the region. Over 400 business associations participated in the inaugural meeting between U.S. and Central Asian officials in March 2024. Since then, the United States has diversified trade routes in Central Asia, and it has provided $50 million in financial support to the region for infrastructural development. These events suggest that Central Asia has been recognized by U.S. businesses as an investor-friendly region.

Opportunities For American AI And IT Companies

Aside from the rise in economic and business ventures by U.S. companies in Central Asia, there has also been an increase in geoeconomic defense relations. According to a report by Breaking Defense, the Central Asian states have taken a “very high level” of interest in American-made defense weapons and equipment. The Central Asian countries are also interested in Western technology capabilities as they seek to reduce their dependency on Russian and Chinese exports. As a result, U.S. companies such as the International Launch Services or Boeing may look to expand their operations in the region, without exposing sensitive technologies to U.S. peer competitors’ eyes.

Once an unreachable market for American companies, the changing geoeconomic landscape within Central Asia now offers significant potential for profit for American firms. Rather than being dependent on their relationship with Russia and China, Central Asian states, led by Kazakhstan, are now seeking to diversify their economies and markets as they strive to strengthen their independence within the region.

This is being realized by prioritizing cooperation with the American AI and tech sectors, as well as modernizing the wider economy. As this partnership matures, American AI and other tech firms will be eager to see how they can enter this market. It is also a rare case of frontier markets prioritizing frontier technology due to a high level of tech education, a remnant from the Soviet era. This ironically makes far-off Central Asia, traditionally not high on the list of American foreign policy priorities despite its geopolitical importance, one of the most promising destinations for American tech investment in the next 5-10 years.