ASTANA – The Astana Finance Days (AFD) 2026: Delivering Impact. Capital in Action concluded with a series of agreements and new financial instruments to strengthen regional financial cooperation, sustainable finance, digital assets, aviation finance and access to capital.
Held on Sept. 9-10, the forum brought together 8,000 participants from 90 countries, including representatives of major global financial institutions and asset managers collectively managing more than $26 trillion. The forum also featured renowned Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen.
Expanding regional financial cooperation Several agreements signed during the forum focused on regulatory cooperation and improving cross-border access to financial markets. The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Bank of Georgia on mutual access and recognition in financial services.
The agreement establishes a framework for closer regulatory cooperation between the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) and Georgian financial markets in selected areas. AFSA also signed an MoU with the Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency (HANFA) to strengthen regulatory cooperation and further develop cooperation between the two authorities.
The agreements complement discussions held during the forum on reducing fragmentation between regional financial markets and facilitating cross-border capital flows. The Astana International Exchange (AIX) and the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange (KSE) also agreed to strengthen cooperation and engagement between Kazakhstan’s and the Kyrgyz Republic’s capital markets.
A major development on the second day was AIX’s launch of trading in voluntary carbon credits verified under the international Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). AIX became the first exchange in Central Asia to provide its own infrastructure for trading voluntary carbon credits.
London-based Valor Carbon became the first supplier, with Standard International Market, an AIX broker and Trading Member, facilitating transactions. The new exchange-based model is designed to provide transparent trading rules and market-based price discovery for carbon credits, creating an additional mechanism for climate projects in the region to access financing.
The initiative builds on the AIFC Carbon Platform and expands AIX’s environmental products, following the earlier introduction of I-REC renewable energy certificates.