ASTANA – Representatives of Central Asian business associations, IT companies, experts and government bodies gathered in Astana on Sept. 28 to discuss proposals to make the region’s five digital markets more compatible and create easier conditions for technology companies to expand across Central Asia.
Representatives of Central Asian governments, business associations, IT companies and expert communities take part in a regional roundtable on digital integration in Astana. Photo credit: Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The regional roundtable was held with the support of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development as part of the B5+1 Cycle.
Discussions focused on initiatives proposed by the business community for inclusion in the Regional Business Agenda for 2027. A central proposal discussed at the meeting was a draft Agreement on Cooperation among Central Asian States in Digital Policy and Artificial Intelligence Governance.
The proposed framework does not call for identical digital legislation or a supranational regulator. Instead, it envisages maintaining national legislation and digital sovereignty while gradually making countries’ legal and digital systems compatible. The areas identified for closer alignment include electronic document management and digital identification, personal data protection, cybersecurity and AI regulation.
The initiative also proposes creating conditions for the mutual recognition of electronic documents, electronic signatures and digital identification tools. According to the proposal, this could reduce administrative and legal barriers for businesses providing digital services across borders.
“Our task is not to create another layer of regulation. We need to build digital bridges between the countries of Central Asia,” said Chair of the Board of TechnoWomen Aziza Shuzheeva. Another proposal presented at the roundtable was a draft Code of Ethics for the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Central Asia.
The document would establish common ethical principles for the five countries while maintaining the priority of national legislation. It is designed as a recommendation and does not envisage a supranational AI regulator, mandatory certification or accreditation of AI systems.
One core principle is that AI can assist people in making decisions but should not replace human responsibility. The draft proposes that when an AI-assisted decision significantly affects a person’s rights or interests, an algorithm should not make the decision alone.
It also outlines proposed rights to know when a person is interacting with AI, receive an understandable explanation of an AI-generated result and request human review. The document identifies several practices as unacceptable, including harmful manipulation, exploitation of vulnerable groups, discriminatory practices, unlawful use of personal data, and the use of synthetic content for fraud or harm.
The proposed code also addresses the region’s linguistic and cultural diversity. Participants proposed developing regional language resources and datasets to improve AI systems’ ability to work with Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and other regional languages.