Kazakhstan-India trade approaches $1bn mark
In line with the President’s directive, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, who is on a working trip to India, has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and took part in the India All Impact Summit 2026, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Olzhas Bektenov conveyed warm greetings to India’s Prime Minister on behalf of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. In response, Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Tokayev and reaffirmed his commitment to advancing joint efforts to elevate the strategic partnership to a new level, according to primeminister.kz.
In 2025, trade turnover between the two countries reached $923.3 million.
The sides discussed the issues of further development of cooperation in the field of trade and investment, energy, agro-industrial sector, digitalization and AI.
Kazakhstan is ready to ramp up exports across 40 commodity items worth $150 million.
The parties noted significant potential for expanding interaction in critical minerals and rare earth elements, space, and defense industry.
The Prime Minister also participated in the India AI Impact Summit 2026, which brought together delegations from more than 50 countries, including heads of state, governments, and representatives of the expert and scientific IT community.
In his speech at the plenary session, Olzhas Bektenov emphasized the economic potential of advanced technologies and their impact on the structure of global growth.
“We believe that intelligence must be inclusive, sovereign, and, most importantly, transformative for key sectors of the economy. Today, 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 top ten globally in terms of online service quality. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has set the goal of transforming Kazakhstan into a fully digital country within three years. Artificial intelligence is a strategic pillar of our national development,” Olzhas Bektenov stated.
The Prime Minister invited global technology companies to cooperate in the development of advanced technologies.
As part of the Year of Digitalization and AI announced by the Head of State, Kazakhstan is advancing the development of the digital economy. The Law “On Artificial Intelligence” has been adopted, ensuring a balance between regulation and the promotion of innovation. The Presidential AI Development Council 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. The Trans-Caspian fiber-optic line project to be completed this year jointly with Azerbaijani partners, will provide the shortest alternative route for global data traffic, enabling Kazakhstan to become a digital bridge between East and West. The flagship “Data Center Valley” project in Ekibastuz will create an ecosystem for large-scale data centers. It was emphasized that the state provides full support, including infrastructure and project facilitation.
Following the forum, heads of delegations visited the international exhibition India AI Impact Expo 2026, where practical solutions, technologies, and applied developments in artificial intelligence were presented. The exhibition covered a wide range of sectors, including industry, finance, healthcare, security, and others.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that India would host the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit in New Delhi on February 19-20, 2026.
