Foreign media on Kazakhstan: State visit of King Philippe to Kazakhstan; Kazakhstan targets end to electricity deficit by 2027

Eurasia Review: The state visit of King Philippe to Kazakhstan: Historic first and mirror of strategic partnership between Brussels and Astana – OpEd

King Philippe of Belgium will make his first state visit to Kazakhstan from October 12 to 15, 2026, at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Eurasia Review reports.

The trip will mark the first state visit by a Belgian sovereign since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992.

The visit was announced following talks between Tokayev and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever in Brussels in June. The Kazakh President described the upcoming trip as a “historic moment” and said he attached “exceptional importance” to it.

King Philippe has previously visited Kazakhstan as Crown Prince, leading economic missions in 2002, 2009 and 2010. In August, he said he was “looking forward” to returning to the country.

The Times of Central Asia: Kazakhstan targets end to electricity deficit by 2027

According to The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan plans to fully cover its domestic electricity demand by the first quarter of 2027, following a major regional power disruption on August 14.

The Energy Ministry expects around 2.6 GW of new generating capacity to come online in 2026, including gas-fired plants, power station expansions and renewable energy projects. By the end of 2027, Kazakhstan is projected to have an electricity surplus of about 1.3 billion kWh.

The country remains a net electricity importer. In 2025, Kazakhstan generated 123.1 billion kWh while consuming 124.6 billion kWh, with demand rising 3.8%.

The August outage, which affected Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, also highlighted vulnerabilities in the interconnected Central Asian power grid.

Even after Kazakhstan eliminates its annual electricity deficit, aging infrastructure and regional imbalances will remain key challenges as electricity demand continues to grow.

UA.NEWS: Kazakhstan has opened its first university dedicated to artificial intelligence

According to UA.NEWS, Kazakhstan has launched its first student recruitment campaign for the Kazakh Research University of Artificial Intelligence (QAIRU), Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek announced.

The university will admit 400 bachelor’s students, including 308 on government scholarships, as well as 100 master’s students. The three-year bachelor’s program will be taught entirely in English.

QAIRU will follow an “AI plus industry” model, combining artificial intelligence with fields such as healthcare and energy. The university aims to train engineers capable of developing their own AI systems rather than simply using existing services.

“In addition, the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund will send 100 of its employees to study in the MBA AI+X program,” Nurbek said.

Located at the former Expo 2017 site in Astana near Astana Hub, QAIRU is part of Kazakhstan’s broader push to integrate AI into higher education and the economy.

Developing Telecoms: Kazakhstan’s Transtelecom is installing Starlink access on trains

Kazakh telecom operator Transtelecom (TTC) is installing Starlink satellite internet on passenger trains operated by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy subsidiary Passenger Transportation JSC, Developing Telecoms reports.

The project will cover 124 trains and 1,235 carriages across 50 routes nationwide. Starlink connectivity has already been activated on some trains, while installation continues “in accordance with the project implementation schedule,” TTC said.

The service is expected to improve internet access on routes where terrestrial mobile coverage is limited or unavailable.

Starlink has been commercially available in Kazakhstan since August 2025, with TTC becoming an official reseller in February 2026.

You can read last week’s digest here.