Kassym-Jomart Tokayev says Kazakhstan sees 6-fold rise in science funding in past 5 years

In his remarks, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated the "tight race for technological supremacy between countries is unfolding." The Kazakh leader highlighted the importance of prioritizing digitalization and AI adoption to unleash the country’s potential.

In the past five years, total investment in science has risen 6-fold, said the president. “The number of research universities in our country is growing, and their ties with real-sector production are being strengthened. The government data indicates more than 200 commercial projects have been launched to date, helping to shape the ‘university - research - innovation - commercialization’ ecosystem. Science cities are being created, and the construction of technoparks and engineering centers has begun,” he said.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that under the new Constitution, Kazakhstan recognizes advancement of education, science, innovation as a national strategic priority.

There are more than 420 research organizations operating in Kazakhstan, employing over 27,000 scientists and research personnel. This is a very large academic community. It is particularly encouraging that the scientific environment is becoming younger - nearly half of Kazakhstan’s scientists are under 40 years old, said the president.

Tokayev said he maintains a positive outlook on science in Kazakhstan, highlighting that he is far from idealizing the current state of science in the country, and certainly far from any ‘euphoria over success.’

Both the Government and the scientific community share a common strategic goal, which is to create a more effective scientific environment, stimulate innovation in the economic sphere, and bring science as close as possible to production, stated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Earlier, Qazinform reported during his working visit to Almaty on Thursday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev examined the scientific potential of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.