Tokayev proposes Singapore expand cooperation in AI and digitalization

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed that Singapore expand cooperation in artificial intelligence and digitalization. The choice of partner is telling: for decades Singapore has been converting technology into economic results — from e-government to national AI training programs — and doing it pragmatically, without gigantomania.

For Kazakhstan, closer ties with such a partner mean access to proven models: how to build state services, how to retrain adult professionals, how to attract technology companies with tax and regulatory conditions. Adopting what is already debugged is faster than inventing your own.

For business, international technology alliances rarely stay abstract — concrete things grow out of them: joint accelerators, education programs, simplified regimes for companies of the two countries. One practical tip: track what the agreements materialize into. Experience shows windows of opportunity — grants, exchange programs, pilot projects — open for months and go to those who followed the topic, not those who learned of it from final reports.