ASTANA – President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed a new development strategy for the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) through 2035, calling for closer industrial and technological cooperation as traditional trade relationships come under strain. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaks at a meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
Photo credit: Akorda. Tokayev suggested creating a portfolio of joint industrial and technological projects until 2030 during his remarks to the Oct. 9 meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State in Avaza. He also proposed holding a CIS-sponsored artificial intelligence forum in Astana next year and establishing a mechanism to exchange experience in AI strategies, legislation and government support.
He said a new architecture of international relations is taking shape, the system of global economic ties is breaking down, technological competition is intensifying, and uncertainty and unpredictability are increasing. “Against this backdrop, direct and trusting dialogue, which makes it possible to find coordinated solutions that take into account the interests of every state, is becoming critically important,” Tokayev said.
The CIS, a regional grouping established in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, had played an important role in maintaining stability and preserving ties among its members, according to Tokayev. “The creation of the CIS made it possible to avoid a total conflict in the so-called post-Soviet space.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the consolidating mission of the CIS was particularly evident during the period when our countries gained independence,” he said, highlighting that the countries preserved historical ties and built a fundamentally new format of interstate cooperation.
Tokayev called on member states to define the organization’s long-term priorities and its place in Eurasia’s changing geopolitical landscape. “We, the CIS member states, must answer the question of what we want the Commonwealth to look like in the long term and what place it should occupy in the rapidly changing geopolitical architecture of Eurasia,” Tokayev said.
He noted that CIS markets remained important for Kazakhstan, accounting for more than a quarter of the country’s foreign trade turnover. Bilateral and regional trade with CIS partners reached nearly $40 billion last year and increased 10% in the first seven months of 2026.