BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15. Kazakhstan and South Korea have reached new agreements on cooperation in Urban Air Mobility (UAM), unmanned aviation and digital management of low-altitude airspace in Kazakhstan.
This was announced in a statement published by the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan, following the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to South Korea.
"A key document in the digitalization of transport was a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT)", the ministry said.
The memorandum was signed by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev, and South Korea’s MOLIT Minister Kim Yun-duk.
The memorandum provides for cooperation in technology transfer and the development and implementation of an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) system in Kazakhstan. The parties will also explore the possibility of preparing a comprehensive intergovernmental agreement on UTM.
South Korea’s state-owned Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) and Kazakhstan’s Alatau Advance Air Group Ltd. (AAAG) have been designated as partners responsible for the practical implementation of the project.
The cooperation will include the transfer and localization of digital technologies for managing low-altitude airspace and establishing the technological infrastructure needed for the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems, eVTOL aircraft and other forms of air transport into Kazakhstan’s digital ecosystem.
Under the agreements, the necessary technologies and digital solutions will be transferred for the local deployment of a UTM system in Kazakhstan. The project is expected to support technological independence and enable local management of the system and data processing in accordance with Kazakhstan’s legislation.
To facilitate the safe introduction of new technologies, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport will consider the use of an experimental legal regime, or regulatory sandbox, as well as relevant government support measures for project participants.
The project will take into account applicable International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and recommended practices, as well as Kazakhstan’s requirements concerning aviation safety, cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure.
According to the ministry, the cooperation between KAC and AAAG forms part of a broader programme to develop an Urban Air Mobility ecosystem in Kazakhstan, including digital air traffic management, eVTOL infrastructure, vertiports and unmanned logistics solutions.
Alatau City is expected to become the first site for the practical implementation of UTM technologies and the development of an urban air mobility ecosystem in Kazakhstan
