Digital Development - The Times Of Central Asia

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Digitalization

Digital Geopolitics and AI Strategy in Central Asia

Central Asia, long known as a crossroads of global trade routes, is once again emerging as a stage for strategic competition. This time, the old caravan routes have been replaced by digital highways. The new contest is over technologies and data flows. For countries in the region, especially Kazakhstan, choosing a digitalization model and an AI development strategy is no longer just a technical matter. It is a fundamental decision tied to national security and long-term competitiveness. Equally important is the “digital ideology” behind these choices, something clearly illustrated today by two giants of the Global South: China and India, each with over a billion people and very different approaches to digital growth. The Dragon's Shadow: China's Systematic Expansion in Central Asia China’s ongoing real estate crisis, rising debt, and slowing domestic demand have pushed Beijing to look outward for growth. One major tool is the Digital Silk Road, announced in 2015 as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. This long-term program aims to export Chinese digital technologies. For Central Asian states, it brings an appealing “one-stop shop” of turnkey solutions: everything from 5G mobile and 10G-PON fixed networks to smart city systems (Huawei, ZTE), surveillance platforms (Hikvision), and fintech tools (Ant Group, Tencent). The benefits come with risks. A heavy reliance on one supplier creates the danger of vendor lock-in. When an entire digital ecosystem is tied to a single foreign provider, questions of security and long-term debt become inevitable. Kazakhstan has shown flexibility by experimenting with mixed models rather than relying exclusively on Chinese systems. Competing Models: China's "Walled Garden" and India's "Digital Public Infrastructure" China: The model is centralized, built on state corporations and giant platforms. It delivers speed and scale of growth, but at the cost of strict control and regulation. The Chinese government has tightened its grip on big tech companies (Alibaba and Tencent), imposed stricter rules on the collection and use of personal data under the Personal Information Protection Law (2021), and limited the fintech divisions of major firms to prevent systemic risks. India: The state has developed India Stack, a package of open digital platforms (Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker) that serve as the rails for thousands of startups and services. This gave India global leadership in digital payments and created a model of open digitalization. Central Asia is already partially repeating this experience (Kazakhstan’s eGov.kz, Kaspi.kz, and the digital tenge), though without the depth and openness that made the Indian approach unique. Today, Central Asia is forming a pragmatic hybrid: Chinese hardware for rapid infrastructure, Indian logic in public services (GovTech, eGov.kz), and European regulatory standards under the GDPR (in force since 2018), which serves as a global benchmark of trust in data. This “three-axis” hybrid allows a balance between speed of implementation and regulatory control. Europe's Alternative: Global Gateway and the Digital Silk Way Europe seeks to strengthen its position in Central Asia and the South Caucasus by offering an alternative to Chinese expansion. Its key tool is the EU Global Gateway...

Startups

24 Central Eurasian Startups Join Silicon Valley Programs

This fall, 24 startups from Central Eurasia and other regions will join the AlchemistX and Silicon Valley Residency programs, set to begin on September 3. The selected teams will gain direct access to the U.S. venture ecosystem, top investors, and leading technology companies. In 2025, a total of 225 startups from 20 countries applied, but only 24 were selected. Of these, 10 teams from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were accepted into the AlchemistX program, while 14 others, representing Qatar, the U.S., Singapore, Georgia, and Mongolia, joined the Silicon Valley Residency. “AlchemistX & Silicon Valley Residency is a strategic corridor linking Central Eurasia with Silicon Valley,” said Kazakhstan’s Minister of Digital Development, Zhaslan Madiev. He highlighted the importance of tangible results, noting that in 2024, 22 participating startups generated $380,000 in revenue within four months and secured $1.4 million in funding. Over the course of the four-month program, participants will receive mentorship from venture partners, attend workshops on U.S. market entry, and pitch their startups to investors at Demo Day. Teams will also have the opportunity to register their companies in the U.S. and become part of the Silkroad Innovation Hub, Kazakhstan’s official innovation outpost in Silicon Valley. “Silkroad Innovation Hub was created as a bridge between Central Eurasia and Silicon Valley, and today we see this mission becoming a reality,” said Asset Abdualiyev, the hub’s founder. The programs are organized by Astana Hub in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan, Silkroad Innovation Hub, and Alchemist Accelerator, with the support of the digital development ministries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as regional venture funds. The participation of Kazakh and Uzbek startups in Silicon Valley underscores Central Eurasia’s growing presence on the global tech stage and offers new pathways for integration into the international innovation economy. At the first Central Eurasia at Silicon Valley conference held in October 2024, industry leaders projected that the region could give rise to major global IT companies within the next 10 to 15 years. Organizers cite the region’s untapped potential: a population of over 100 million, an average age of 27, and around 200,000 STEM graduates each year. With a maturing startup ecosystem, active universities, growing venture capital networks, and an international presence in Silicon Valley, Central Eurasia is poised to become a new tech frontier.

Internet

Splitting the Flow: How Central Asia Can Bypass Russia in Internet Connectivity

In today’s world, reliable mobile communications and internet access are indispensable, and Central Asia is no exception. Digital infrastructure has become a core component of development across the region. Yet, the architecture of internet connectivity in Central Asia has been shaped not only by global technological progress but also by the geopolitical upheavals of the early 2020s, a decade already recognized as historically transformative. Recent developments have renewed focus on this issue. On August 13, Kazakhstan officially joined over 100 countries utilizing Starlink’s satellite internet services, following a June 12, 2025, agreement that confirmed SpaceX's compliance with national laws. The Kazakh Ministry of Digital Development emphasized that Starlink offers stable connectivity “even in the most remote and inaccessible areas,” expanding access to digital services for underserved populations. While Starlink’s rates are higher than local norms, 23,000 KZT ($42.50) a month for home users and 26,000 KZT ($48) for mobile users, the launch signals a broader shift in Kazakhstan’s internet policy. For decades, the country maintained strict control over online access. As late as 2019, the authorities blocked social networks during live streams by exiled oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov. The 2020 pandemic further exposed infrastructure gaps, with students in remote areas forced to climb rooftops and trees for mobile signals. These stark images, along with a gradual political thaw, likely spurred the momentum for reform. Another catalyst is the war in Ukraine. A recent report by the Internet Society highlights Kazakhstan’s efforts to reduce reliance on Russian internet infrastructure and enhance regional digital resilience. Central Asia’s landlocked geography means it depends heavily on terrestrial fiber optic cables connected to countries with undersea landing stations. Approximately 95% of Kazakhstan’s international internet traffic flows through Russia, posing strategic vulnerabilities amid heightened geopolitical tensions. To address this, Kazakhstan is investing in low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems and exploring alternative terrestrial fiber routes, including a long-discussed cable under the Caspian Sea connecting to Europe. As of January 2024, Kazakhstan had 18.2 million internet users, 92.3% of the population, with average fixed-line speeds of 53.86 Mbps, ranking 94th globally, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Index. Uzbekistan Follows Suit Uzbekistan, the region’s second-largest economy, is also seeking to diversify its digital dependencies. In March 2025, Tashkent signed agreements with the European Union on a satellite internet project and the “Connectivity for Central Asia” program, both aimed at extending access to remote communities and modernizing digital infrastructure. These initiatives are part of the EU’s Global Gateway strategy. “By investing in digital connectivity, we are bridging gaps, creating opportunities, and ensuring that Central Asia has access to the benefits of the digital economy,” said European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen. As of early 2024, Uzbekistan had 34.2 million mobile subscribers and 29.5 million internet users, an 83.3% penetration rate. Basic fixed-line internet packages cost 55,000 UZS ($4.40) per month for 6 Mbps daytime speeds; premium plans offer 50 Mbps for about $8. As reported by The Times of Central Asia, Starlink is expected to launch in Uzbekistan in 2026....

Kazakhstan Pushes Nationwide AI Rollout Amid Cybersecurity Risks and Skills Shortages

Kazakhstan is preparing to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) on a large scale across the economy, government, and education. However, experts warn that without transparency, constant auditing, and stronger oversight, the program risks falling short of its goals. Slow Progress and Security Risks A meeting on AI development was held in Astana on August 11, attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, and senior government officials. According to Tokayev, Kazakhstan’s main objective is to become a digital hub in Eurasia, but sluggish implementation, weak control mechanisms, and a shortage of qualified personnel are stymying progress. “I have already spoken about accelerating the creation of a unified national digital ecosystem," Tokayev said. "I have instructed that the necessary infrastructure be prepared, a legislative framework and data collection system be developed, and work begin on the introduction of artificial intelligence. However, the progress in implementing these instructions is unsatisfactory.” Cybersecurity is the priority, as current systems remain highly vulnerable. Since the start of the year, more than 40 major data breaches have occurred. The largest incident, in June, leaked 16.3 million records containing the personal data of Kazakh citizens, out of a population of 20 million, into the public domain. This was confirmed by Olzhas Satiev, president of the Center for Analysis and Investigation of Cyber Attacks (CARCA). By the end of the year, AI is set to be incorporated into e-government and Smart City projects, with a particular emphasis on the AI-Sana program, which aims to develop human capital and transform universities into research centers. The government is also responsible for introducing AI into state agencies and national companies, as well as drafting new legislation regulating AI. There are also plans to migrate all state and quasi-state digital systems onto a single sovereign platform. The national digital platform, QazTech, entered into commercial operation in July. Partnerships With China Kazakhstan intends to work closely with China on new digital products. Tokayev has pointed to China’s DeepSeek platform, developed for $6.5 million, far below the cost of Western equivalents, as an example to learn from. In February 2025, the National Academy of Sciences signed a memorandum with Zhejiang University of Technology, establishing an International Joint Laboratory for Spatio-Temporal Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development. The lab will focus on energy and climatology projects. In August, Tokayev expressed support for China’s proposal to create a World Organization for AI Development. Concerns Over Oversight and Staffing Independent analysts believe Kazakhstan has the potential to integrate AI into many aspects of daily life, given its relatively high level of digitalization. However, they warn of the risk of large sums being wasted on ineffective projects. Economist Rassul Rysmambetov has called for a full audit of more than a thousand large state IT systems to identify ineffective platforms. He also highlighted the shortage of skilled personnel: “There is too much technology, but not enough staff. Investments and start-ups sound like good slogans, but where are the professionals? I have often seen IT specialists forced into other jobs due to...

Organization of Turkic States

The Turkic States Are Quietly Building a Geoeconomic Power Base

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) has spent the past years assembling itself not through declarations or summit communiqués, but through shared transport and logistics, harmonized customs procedures, and coordinated capital flows. What began in 2009 as the Turkic Council, a lightly institutional and rhetorically cohesive forum for shared identity, has evolved, following its 2021 transformation into the OTS, into a logistical and regulatory organism. Its under-the-radar evolution has been systematized through agreed documents, deployed capital, and materialized infrastructure. The OTS has entered a phase of procedural coordination and structural intent. Its cooperation is now practical, strategic, and functionally embedded. This evolution has not followed a single arc, nor has it merely responded to outside pressures. Instead, it has progressed through an uneven sequence of internal adjustments, sometimes slow and technical, sometimes accelerated by external jolts such as the recent disruption in Azerbaijani–Russian relations. But such jolts only intensified a trajectory already underway. Member states had been converging long before this most recent bilateral crisis by aligning their policies, testing instruments, and developing the practical grammar of multilateral coordination. The current phase of renewed cooperation is not a reactive surge but a prepared transition that expresses an underlying structural shift in Eurasian geoeconomics at large. Digital Infrastructure and Networked Cooperation If there is a single domain where institutional convergence becomes immediately visible, this would be digital logistics. Once-fractured national processes — disjointed customs systems, mismatched permits, bureaucratic duplication — have begun to fold into a shared administrative architecture (including eTIR, eCMR, and ePermit) structured by international conventions that have been adapted to fit the particular alignments now emerging in the Turkic sphere. These procedures are no longer pilot projects but live systems. They digitize paperwork, synchronize border procedures, and build the kind of operational rhythms that trade corridors need in order to function. Negotiations continue, meanwhile, on a Free Trade in Services Agreement, targeted not at deregulation but at harmonization, viz., the alignment of technical and professional standards across a disparate set of economies. Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, for example, are already piloting a Simplified Customs Corridor. Its eventual integration with the multimodal Uzbekistan–Türkiye axis is not a matter of if, but of how soon. Official observer states to the OTS are also beginning to move, with Hungary being the clearest case. Its $100 million injection into the Turkic Investment Fund made headlines, but the real story is downstream: Hungarian infrastructure now receives Azerbaijani gas via Türkiye. That is not diplomacy; that is energy dependence, structurally routed. Turkmenistan, long the holdout, has started to engage, first through planning meetings and now through signed agreements. Its ports, once idle in regional plans, are being fitted into the wider Caspian logistics network. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), formally recognized only by Türkiye, is also a functional participant through educational exchanges, shared language, and soft institutions. Reciprocal Trade and Development The shift underway is as much geographic as it is institutional. Central Asia is no longer on the margins of the OTS...

Digital Technologies

Silicon Steppes: Can Kazakhstan Become Eurasia’s Next Digital Nexus?

At this month’s Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev urged fellow Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) leaders to reorient toward the future. “Digitalization and artificial intelligence… should become an absolute priority of the EAEU,” he told the plenary session, warning that “we are already living in the era of AI.” Tokayev cited forecasts that AI could contribute $15 trillion to global GDP and displace 300 million jobs by 2030, arguing the EAEU bloc has a “historic opportunity” to act now. “It is important to use this window of opportunity in a timely manner… to strengthen our role in the emerging digital world order,” he stated. “A small group of countries will emerge as leaders in this field… others may be left behind. The EAEU must lead — or, at the very least, avoid lagging behind.” Tokayev’s remarks capped a speech outlining Kazakhstan’s sweeping digital agenda, which includes a national supercomputer, a high-profile artificial intelligence hub, and a “CryptoCity” pilot zone. These efforts signal not only a pivot away from extractive industries but a push to establish Kazakhstan as the heart of Central Asia’s digital and data infrastructure. Once seen as an economic hindrance, Kazakhstan’s landlocked geography is now being leveraged as a potential asset. A 3,700 km West–East Fiber-Optic Highway is under construction, connecting China’s Xinjiang province to the Caspian Sea. The project, expected to be completed in 2026, aims to provide a secure, high-speed terrestrial route for global data flows between Europe and East Asia. By pairing this with expanded redundancy and data center capacity, Kazakhstan hopes to serve as a neutral, cost-effective host for hyperscale data centers supporting global cloud providers and sovereign clients alike. With abundant energy, political stability, and growing fiber capacity, officials argue Kazakhstan can reduce regional dependence on submarine cables routed through politically sensitive chokepoints. Kazakhstan’s infrastructure investments are central to Tokayev’s vision. In Astana, the futuristic Nur Alem sphere — originally built to host the 2017 World Expo — is being converted into Alem.AI, an international artificial intelligence center focused on education, research, and applied technology. The facility will host labs, training academies, and co-working space for startups, to produce 10,000 AI specialists per year and generate $5 billion in AI-driven exports by 2029. Complementing this is the new national AI supercomputer, developed in partnership with UAE-based Presight AI. Launched in May 2025, the system is rated at up to 2 exaflops, powered by NVIDIA H200 chips, and installed within a Tier III-certified data center. Government officials say it will be used for machine learning, scientific modeling, LLM development, and cybersecurity testing, and will eventually be made available to Kazakh universities and private sector firms. Meanwhile, the CryptoCity pilot zone near Alatau will allow the regulated use of cryptocurrencies in daily life, from shopping to property purchases, within a restricted environment. It is being developed under the supervision of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development and Samruk-Kazyna, the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Though crypto transactions currently remain largely banned in the country,...