Kazakhstan approves Statute for new AI & Digital Development Ministry
October 16, 2025 - Kazakhstan has approved the Statute for its Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The move centralizes leadership and cross-industry coordination across AI policy, digital government, cybersecurity, communications, and technical standards.
The Ministry will steer national efforts across aerospace and electronics, scientific and technical development, geodesy, cartography and spatial data, personal data protection, digital assets, project management, and government services policy. The resolution comes into force on January 1, 2026.
What the Ministry covers
- AI governance: State policy for Artificial Intelligence, e-government, and personal data protection.
- Aerospace and electronics: Oversight of the aerospace sector, including coordination related to the Baikonur complex lease with Russia.
- National scientific and technological development across priority fields.
- Cybersecurity in informatization, including standards, audits, and incident readiness.
- Communications infrastructure and market oversight, including radio frequency spectrum management.
- Data governance and policy for state services, plus digital assets and public-sector project management.
- Geodesy, cartography, and spatial data standards for state use.
Organizational structure
- Aerospace Committee
- Cybersecurity Committee
- Telecommunications Committee
- Public Services Committee
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Management Committee
Core responsibilities
- Digital governance: Develop and implement state policy for AI, e-government, and personal data protection.
- Aerospace and tech: Grow the aerospace sector (including Baikonur-related coordination) and advance national science and technology.
- Infrastructure and security: Set cybersecurity requirements, manage RF spectrum, and oversee communications services and markets.
- Public services and data: Standardize delivery of state services and coordinate cross-agency data management and quality.
- Geospatial management: Policy and standards for geodesy, mapping, and spatial data.
Why this matters for IT and development teams
- AI standards and compliance: Expect formal guidance on model risk, dataset governance, auditability, and privacy-by-design for public-sector projects.
- Security obligations: Tighter baselines for vulnerability management, SOC integration, and incident reporting across gov-connected systems.
- Data engineering: Unified data models and metadata requirements for inter-agency exchange; likely emphasis on API-first services and event-driven architectures.
- Telecom and IoT: Spectrum policy may influence 5G/IoT rollouts, device certification, and interference standards.
- GIS integration: Consistent geospatial schemas and coordinate systems will affect mapping services, logistics, and city platforms.
- Digital assets: Clearer rules for tokenized services and registries in public workflows; verify custody, identity, and audit controls early.
- Procurement and delivery: Project management oversight will prioritize measurable outcomes, security posture, and interoperability from day one.
Timeline and context
The Statute takes effect on January 1, 2026. Earlier, in the State of the Nation Address, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev set a three-year target for Kazakhstan to become a digital country. This Ministry is built on the former Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, signaling continuity with a sharper AI and data focus.
Next steps for technical leaders
- Audit current projects connected to state systems for privacy, cybersecurity, and interoperability gaps.
- Prepare for standards on model documentation, evaluation datasets, and lifecycle governance.
- Align network and device plans with spectrum and telecom guidance once published.
- Assess data pipelines for lineage, metadata, and access control readiness across agencies.
If you need to upskill teams for upcoming AI policy and MLOps standards, explore focused learning paths by role at Complete AI Training.
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