Crossroads Asia | Diplomacy | Central Asia

Why Kazakhstan Wants the Turkic World to Be a Tech Hub, Not a Military Bloc

Tokayev made this logic explicit during the informal OTS summit when he warned that countries that fail to adapt to technological transformation risk being left behind.

The leaders of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkiye, and Uzbekistan visited the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi.

The informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) held in Turkistan, Kazakhstan on May 15 offered a revealing glimpse into how Astana sees the future of Turkic cooperation. Outside observers have often viewed the OTS through one of two narrow lenses: either as a symbolic cultural project built around shared linguistic identity, or as the early foundations of a more geopolitical pan-Turkic bloc led by Turkiye.

Both interpretations are increasingly incomplete. The summit in Turkistan suggested something far more pragmatic is taking shape, and Kazakhstan is looking to play a central role in shaping it.

Hosted under the theme of “Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development,” the summit was notable for what it prioritized. Rather than focusing on ideological rhetoric or hard security cooperation, discussions centered on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, cybersecurity, transport connectivity, satellite cooperation and technological competitiveness. The summit concluded with the signing of the Turkistan Declaration, while President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev used the platform to present a series of proposals aimed at transforming the OTS into a more functional platform for modernization.

Among those proposals were the creation of a network of artificial intelligence centers across OTS member states, the establishment of a joint “Turkic AI” hub within Kazakhstan’s Alem.ai center, cooperation on cybersecurity, mutual recognition of digital signatures and electronic documentation, expanded satellite collaboration, and the creation of a unified digital platform dedicated to Turkic history and culture.

This suggests a broader Kazakh calculation that the OTS should evolve into a mechanism that helps member states remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented global economy.

Tokayev made this logic explicit during the summit when he warned that countries that fail to adapt to technological transformation risk being left behind. In an era increasingly defined by competition between the United States, China, and the European Union over artificial intelligence, semiconductor supply chains, digital governance standards and critical technologies, middle powers face a growing risk of becoming passive consumers of foreign technologies rather than active participants in shaping technological ecosystems.

For Kazakhstan and many of its regional partners, digitalization is increasingly tied to sovereignty. This helps explain why Astana is attempting to push the OTS beyond cultural symbolism. Shared identity may provide political cohesion, but it does little on its own to help member states compete in artificial intelligence, improve logistics efficiency, modernize customs systems, or build digital resilience.

Kazakhstan itself has spent the past several years aggressively trying to position itself as a regional technology hub. The government has declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, launched new supercomputing infrastructure, opened the Alem.ai platform in Astana, and announced plans for a new Data Center Valley project aimed at attracting international investment into digital infrastructure. Astana has also introduced legal reforms related to artificial intelligence and digital governance while promoting initiatives such as the Digital Nomad Residency program to attract foreign talent.

The OTS summit allowed Kazakhstan to export part of this domestic modernization agenda into a broader........

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