ASTANA — Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov held bilateral talks with Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi on Feb. 19 during his working visit to New Delhi, discussing the further development of trade and investment cooperation on the sidelines of the international India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov with Prime Minister of the Republic of India Narendra Modi. Photo cedit: primeminister.kz
Bektenov conveyed warm greetings on behalf of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In turn, Modi extended his best wishes to Tokayev and reaffirmed his intention to continue joint efforts to elevate the strategic partnership to a new level.
The talks also focused on energy, agriculture, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. In 2025, trade turnover between the two countries reached $923.3 million. Kazakhstan expressed readiness to increase exports across 40 product categories worth $150 million. Significant potential was noted for expanding cooperation in critical minerals and rare earth elements, space, and the defense industry.
During his address at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which brought together delegations from more than 50 countries, including heads of state and government, as well as representatives of the expert and scientific IT community, Bektenov highlighted the economic potential of advanced technologies and their impact on the structure of global growth. He stressed that intelligence must be inclusive, sovereign, and, most importantly, transformative for key sectors of the economy, noting that Kazakhstan is becoming a regional digital hub.
“In the UN E-Government Development Index, we rank 24th out of 193 countries. Our country is also among the world’s top ten in terms of online service quality. President Tokayev has set the goal of transforming Kazakhstan into a fully digital nation within three years. Artificial intelligence is a strategic pillar of our national development,” Bektenov said.
He invited global technology companies to cooperate in advancing cutting-edge technologies. As part of the Year of Digitalization and AI, Kazakhstan is developing its digital economy. Bektenov noted that the Law on Artificial Intelligence has been adopted to ensure a balance between regulation and innovation incentives.
The AI Development Council under the President has brought together leading global visionaries on a single platform. For the first time in Central Asia, two of the largest supercomputing clusters have been deployed, and in partnership with NVIDIA, a Sovereign AI Hub project is being implemented.
Bektenov said that the completion this year of the Trans-Caspian fiber-optic line, constructed jointly with Azerbaijani partners, will provide the shortest alternative route for global data traffic, enabling Kazakhstan to serve as a digital bridge between East and West.
He also noted in his speech that the flagship Data Center Valley project in Ekibastuz will create an ecosystem for large-scale data centers. It was emphasized that the government provides comprehensive support, including infrastructure and project facilitation.
Following the forum, heads of delegations visited the India AI Impact Expo 2026 international exhibition, which showcased practical solutions, technologies, and applied developments in artificial intelligence. The exposition covered a wide range of sectors, including industry, finance, healthcare, security, and more.
