ASTANA ( WNAM MONITORING): President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev participated in the meetings of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on June 27 in Minsk, Belarus.
The expanded meeting focused on enhancing trade and economic cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and with external partners, with an emphasis on industry, transportation, logistics, agriculture, digitization, and artificial intelligence (AI).
The session concluded with the signing of a trade agreement with Mongolia and an economic partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates, expanding the union’s external cooperation.
The meeting was attended by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian via video address, Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and First Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia Uchral Nyam-Osor.
In a narrow-format session, the EAEU heads of state, including President Tokayev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussed advancing economic integration within the union. It was also announced that Kazakhstan will assume the presidency of the council in 2025.
On the sidelines, Tokayev held a bilateral meeting with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, continuing the dialogue initiated during the Crown Prince’s recent visit to Astana.
Addressing the Eurasian Economic Forum held the day before, Tokayev called for deeper, forward-looking integration, guided by equality, mutual benefit, and results-oriented action.
Tokayev highlighted the EAEU’s growing economic power, noting that mutual trade hit a record $98 billion in 2024, while the bloc’s combined GDP growth outpaced global rates. The total economic potential of the EAEU now exceeds $2.6 trillion.
He proposed organizing a special session on digital cooperation in AI in 2026 and emphasized the importance of creating joint innovation hubs and AI research centers within the EAEU framework.
Kazakhstan, he said, is taking steps to lead in this area. Among national initiatives are the creation of a National AI Development Council, the deployment of a high-powered supercomputer for R&D, the launch of AlemAI Center in Astana in 2025, and CryptoCity, a legal sandbox for digital assets.
He added that Kazakhstan positions itself as a regional innovation leader in AI and digital infrastructure and stands ready to share its expertise with EAEU partners.
