Tokayev highlights AI progress and risks at Eurasian Economic Forum

During the 2025 Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, attended by leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and various experts, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev delivered a speech at the plenary session of the summit. As reported by Akorda, the official residence and workplace of Kazakhstan’s president, he spoke about economic cooperation and artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on modern life.

«Standing on the verge of a new stage of its development, the EEU is indeed one of the largest alliances in Eurasia, with a cumulative economic potential of $2.6 trillion. Last year, mutual trade volume reached another record high of $98 billion, nearly doubling compared to 2015. At the same time, the cumulative GDP growth rate of our countries has already outpaced the global average for the second year in a row,» Tokayev stated.

He also highlighted that digitalization and AI have the potential to boost the economies of EEU member states, citing the example of the digital technology use in Kazakhstan.

At the same time, Tokayev pointed to risks associated with AI.

«Of course, there is also a negative side to AI. Let’s take ChatGPT — students widely use this tool, and even some political leaders reportedly use the chatbot to draft their speeches. However, I believe this is just a side effect of AI and digitalization in general. Forecasts suggest that digitalization and AI will contribute over $15 trillion to global GDP, replacing up to 300 million jobs and creating entirely new ones by 2030,» the president said.

He noted that Kazakhstan remains consistent in its desire to gradually develop its potential in the field. In the near future, the country plans to deploy a high-performance supercomputer, the computing power of which is expected to be used for scientific research, big data analysis and solving complex engineering problems.  

To promote the necessary legal framework for the industry, Kazakhstan has established an AI development council; the law regulating AI is currently being developed. In addition, a new international artificial intelligence center, AlemAI, is scheduled to open this year. Furthermore, according to Tokayev, work is underway to establish an experimental innovation zone called CryptoCity, which is expected to become a center of attraction for global cryptocurrency experts.

«Overall, Kazakhstan welcomes cooperation and proposes that EEU countries jointly engage in launching innovation and technology clusters, as well as startup incubators, where scientific achievements and technologies can be transformed into successful commercial solutions,» the president stated.

Tokayev also emphasized that global AI competition is intensifying and that the EEU has a historic opportunity to become a part of this process. However, this process is not without risks.

«These are the digital divide, the reduction of traditional jobs and the limitation of digital sovereignty, including dependence on global digital monopolies. There is a risk that a small group of fairly highly developed countries could emerge as the leaders of global development and drive this trend, while the rest of the modern world finds itself on the sidelines. I believe that it is the EEU that should take the lead in this process at best — or, at the very least, not allow itself to fall behind,» the president emphasized.

To accelerate this discussion, Tokayev proposed that a special meeting be held in 2026, when Kazakhstan assumes the chairmanship of the Union, to develop a joint EEU strategy on AI.