Digitalization, logistics, agro-industrial complex, AI: Kazakhstan and Serbia entering new level of cooperation
The Government of Kazakhstan on Friday hosted a meeting between Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. Taking into account the high-level talks earlier today, measures for the further expansion of trade and economic cooperation were reviewed, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing primeminister.kz.
Particular attention was paid to cooperation in investment, transport and logistics, the digital sector and artificial intelligence, industry, construction, agriculture, tourism, education, and other areas.
Today, you held productive and constructive negotiations with the Head of our State, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The Government of Kazakhstan will place special oversight on the implementation of all agreements reached at the highest level. According to our data, in 2025 the volume of mutual trade amounted to 107.7 million US dollars, increasing by 7.6 percent compared to last year. This figure provides a solid foundation for achieving even more significant results. We intend to give this process a systematic and long-term character, stated Bektenov.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, in turn, confirmed his commitment to developing partnership with Kazakhstan in such promising areas as energy, defense industry, construction, civil aviation, artificial intelligence and information technologies, as well as education.
We, together with the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, will personally oversee all partnership processes. We are well aware of how engaged our governments are in this work. We are interested in Kazakhstan’s experience in education. In this regard, we would like to invite Kazakhstani experts to Serbia to share their experience in opening campuses of foreign universities, developing dual education, and organizing studies abroad for students, said President Aleksandar Vučić.
The meeting highlighted the significant potential for expanding cooperation with Serbia in the field of digital transformation. In Kazakhstan, within the framework of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence declared by the Head of State, a modern digital ecosystem is being formed. Two supercomputer clusters have been launched in Central Asia, the International Artificial Intelligence Center Alem.ai has been established, and a pilot zone, CryptoCity, is being implemented, among other initiatives.
In discussing transport integration, attention was focused on the development of the Middle Corridor and Kazakhstan’s ongoing work to build new infrastructure, including railway and road networks, maritime terminals, and international air hubs. Prospects for deepening partnership in the agro-industrial sector were also noted, including in breeding and seed production.
Prime Minister Bektenov stressed the readiness of Kazakhstani producers to export a wide range of high-quality agricultural products and to cooperate in processing. In light of the upcoming EXPO 2027 in Belgrade, the Kazakhstani side also expressed its readiness to share its experience gained from hosting the specialized exhibition in Astana in 2017.
Following the meeting, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and President Aleksandar Vučić reaffirmed their commitment to the dynamic development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation across all promising areas.
As part of his official visit to Kazakhstan, President Aleksandar Vučić visited an exhibition of Kazakhstan’s defense industry, including joint Kazakhstani-Serbian defense projects, the Astana International Financial Centre, and the International Artificial Intelligence Center Alem.ai.
At the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), key areas of activity were presented, including tools for attracting investment, structuring transactions, developing capital markets, and supporting international projects. Special attention was given to business support infrastructure. AIFC Governor Renat Bekturov reported that the total volume of investments attracted through the AIFC has exceeded 20 billion US dollars to date.
At the Alem.ai Center, Aleksandar Vučić was introduced to Kazakhstan’s systematic approach to developing the digital sector and AI technologies, where he was presented with domestic developments and AI startups.
At Astana Hub, attention was focused on the system for supporting IT startups and fostering cooperation with leading global companies. The following Kazakhstani startups were also presented:
- BestVision – on the development of smart helmets with AI monitoring, video analytics, and tracking for industry and mining;
- KazDream - specializing in software development, data analytics, and AI;
- Documentolog - a national cloud-based service for automating electronic document management;
- Nace.AI - an AI platform for automating managerial and operational processes based on AI agents, among others.
Previously, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan and Serbia sign wide-ranging documents to deepen bilateral ties.
Earlier today, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić held extended talks at the Akorda presidential palace in Astana. The high-level talks are set to focus on strengthening the political dialogue, expanding trade and economic ties, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation.
It was reported Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić was awarded the Altyn Qyran Order for his contributions to bilateral ties.
The potential and prospects for interaction between the two countries in the coming years are discussed in the material by a Qazinform correspondent.
