IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

Kazakh Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov proposed the idea to create a digital platform for the exchange of technological solutions, patents, and innovative ideas between the Eurasian countries. This was announced at a Feb. 2 plenary session of the Digital Almaty 2024 forum, reported its press service.

The panel discussions gathered over 200 government officials, international experts, industry leaders, and top innovators to address the emerging prospects for digital cooperation and put forward new collaborative ideas of the Eurasian countries.

Kazakhstan ranks seventh among Asian countries for e-government in 2016, a United Nations report said.

The “100 Concrete Steps to Implement Five Institutional Reforms” initiative launched last year by President Nursultan Nazarbayev “has the potential to support the establishment of a modern, professional and independent public service,” the UN stated in its 2016 E-Government Survey.

Kazakhstan is listed 39th in the United Nations E-Government Survey 2018, the UN reported.

Now the country has 6 projects of "smart city" including Smart Nur-Sultan, Smart Almaty, Smart Aqkol, Smart Petropavl, Smart Aktobe и Smart Karaganda.

Kazakhstan is courting South Korean investment for its next phase of industrial and digital transformation, including an AI-centered smart city project and new transport initiatives, Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Kuantyrov said Thursday.

Speaking at a briefing held at The Hilton Hotel ahead of the Kazakhstan Global Investment Round (KGIR) in Astana, Kuantyrov said the two countries share common goals in digitalization and artificial intelligence, and that a new project — the city of Alatau — will anchor future cooperation.

“We are dedicated to simplifying the mechanism of interaction between businesses and the state. E-procurement, electronic document management, e-tax, e-licensing, information systems, as well as the payment of pensions and benefits have already shown to be effective. Furthermore, the cloud platform will create an ‘open government’ and thus increase the transparency of public authorities to businesses and the public,” said Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov, who attended the forum along with UN Deputy Secretary-General Wu Hongbo, government officials, scholars and leading international experts in the field of ICT from more than 70 countries.

"According to the latest ranking of the United Nations, Kazakhstan ranked second on 'e-participation index' among 192 countries (31st in 2005)," the statement reads.

"I give three months for the completion of work on versions of the concept and preparation of a final proposal on the timetable for adopting a state e-government program," Prime Minister Akhmetov has said.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs launched an electronic housing register in October, the Central Communications Service reported Nov. 19. The listing now includes approximately nine million people.

Kazakh citizens have been submitting entitling documents for residential premises since 2017. The information can be received online from the address registry using the individual identification number and the electronic housing register system was developed based on the service. The migration service has started issuing address certificates to homeowners indicating all persons registered at the location.

The Taldykorgan City Administration (akimat), Kazakh telecommunications company ASTEL, and French Internet of Things (IoT) solutions developer Actility have signed a memorandum of cooperation to implement a Smart City project in the town of Taldykorgan.

The initiative, based on LoRaWAN technology, will establish a comprehensive urban monitoring system aimed at improving city management and residents’ quality of life.

The Government of Kazakhstan pays special attention to the development of e-Government. The state infrastructure of the e-Government was built in the country over a short period of time. The information resources and systems of the state bodies were integrated into a single complex. Presently, the number of certificates issued by the e-Government portal makes 10 million.

Kazakhstan is making significant efforts to implement the principles of sustainable development in the sphere of state and public services, Kazakhstan's First Vice Minister of Digital Development Kanysh Tuleushin said at a high-level roundtable on green digital actions, Trend reports.

“All countries are now making efforts to achieve certain goals related to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and striving for carbon neutrality. And, of course, Kazakhstan is not an exception. We are making significant efforts to implement the principles of sustainable development in government and public services, develop GovTech solutions, and share these technologies with other countries.

The Central Asian nation is positioning itself as a leader in government cryptocurrency adoption.

Kazakhstan is making bold moves in the digital currency world. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev recently announced plans to create a government-backed cryptocurrency fund and build the world’s first fully digital city where people can pay for everything with crypto.

This puts Kazakhstan ahead of larger countries that are still debating whether their governments should invest in digital assets.

According to the latest rankings of the UN, Kazakhstan jointly with Singapore took the second place in the world in terms of the e-participation among 190 participating countries, Pm. kz site informed.

Kazakhstan ranked 31st in terms of these rankings in 2005. Our country also climbed up from the 65th place to the 38thone in 2005 in terms of development of electronic government.

"Measures to reduce the cost of transportation of goods, to reduce the time of customs clearance and control of compliance need to be developed till the end of this year in order to support domestic exporters," Nursultan Nazarbayev noted, speaking at the opening of the 4th session of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the 5th convocation Sept.2.

Establishment of an educational program KazEU-KAIST is planned within the joint activity. This project is a unique for Kazakhstan's higher educational institutions.

According to KazEU rector Ali Abishev, the Green Economy direction of the economic science became very popular in recent years. Stable development of a state requires a complex unity of three components - economic, social and environmental.

“It is necessary to speed up the adoption of the conception,” the Prime Minister said at the governmental session on Tuesday.

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the establishment of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, underscoring Kazakhstan’s strategic goal of becoming a fully digital country within three years, at his annual state-of-the-nation address on Sept. 8 during a joint session of the parliament’s chambers.

Speaking on the nation’s future, Tokayev emphasized that Kazakhstan, located at the heart of Eurasia, must adapt to the global transformation driven by rapid digitalization and artificial intelligence. He noted that the new ministry will be created on the basis of the current specialized ministry and headed by a Deputy Prime Minister–level specialist, reported Akorda.

The Forum was initiated by the United Nations after e-government has become widespread enough in the world and was held for the first time in 2012 in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea also hosts the Global Forum this year, which is timed to coincide with the 7th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance spearheaded by the UN. The Forum gathered more than a thousand representatives of governmental authorities, businesses and international organizations from 40 countries.

In December 2025, Astana will launch the Smart City project, aimed at digitising urban infrastructure using artificial intelligence (AI).

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev praised the efforts of the government and the Astana city administration in preparing the project and instructed them to scale up the initiative to major cities across the country, including Almaty, Shymkent, and Karaganda.

The project provides for the automation of city services, optimisation of the transport system, improvement of energy efficiency, enhancement of security and environmental monitoring.