Astana hosts Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation

Kazakhstan is set to establish a National Center for Artificial Intelligence in Astana next year. It will serve as a hub for selecting effective digital solutions. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan, along with neighboring countries, is also implementing a project to lay a fiber-optic communication line across the Caspian Sea with access to the Persian Gulf countries. This integration will create advanced infrastructure for data collection and processing and facilitate the entry of Kazakh IT solutions into the global market. Addressing the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Digital Inclusion and Transformation, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov touched on the development of digitalization in the country. Notably, the event is organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and is aimed at enhancing digital cooperation.

 

«As our head of state Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly emphasized, digital technologies are opening up new horizons for business, education, and healthcare, driving economic growth and expanding opportunities for millions of people. Therefore, we are actively developing these fields. Today Kazakhstan is among the 30 most digitalized counties in the world and ranks eighth in providing online servicesBektenov said.


«Digital by default has become our norm. It is restructuring our economies, bringing new opportunities for value creation and reweaving the fabric of society to help tackle some of our most persistent sustainable development challenges. At the same time, digital transformation intersects with economic, environmental and social risks of unseen complexity and uncertainty,» noted UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana.