BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 2. Kazakhstan is building a comprehensive national AI ecosystem, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at the third meeting of the Artificial Intelligence Development Council in Astana.
According to the press service of the Kazakh president, Tokayev stated that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the key factors of competitiveness in the new digital era. According to the UN Industrial Development Report 2026, AI has been recognized as one of five transformative megatrends reshaping the global economy,
Over the past five years, the share of AI-related patents in the total number of patent applications has increased approximately threefold, he said, describing the trend as evidence of a fundamental technological shift.
“Competition is no longer only for natural resources, capital, and sales markets, but also for the speed of improving production efficiency. For Kazakhstan, it is important to use the opportunities that are opening up in a timely manner. The main task is to increase labor productivity, accelerate technological modernization, and expand the production of high value-added goods. Artificial intelligence should become one of the key tools in this work,” Tokayev said.
He said Kazakhstan is building a comprehensive national AI ecosystem under its Digital Kazakhstan strategy through 2029, aimed at generating tangible economic results. Over the first eight months of this year, industrial production amounted to about 46 trillion tenge (about $104.1 billion). The manufacturing industry grew by 8.4% compared with the same period last year.
He noted that maintaining high economic growth rates would require higher labor productivity, modernization of the industrial base and expansion of high value-added production.
“The key role in achieving this goal is played by artificial intelligence. The true value of AI lies in expanding human capabilities. AI enables engineers to make more accurate decisions, increases labor productivity and provides management with real-time analytical information for making prompt and informed decisions. This principle underpins our industrial policy,” the president said.
