Tokayev receives NVIDIA's Huang in Astana, awards state order for AI contributions

Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Huang, a representative of NVIDIA, at the Akorda Presidential Palace in the capital Astana. The meeting reviewed cooperation between the company and Kazakhstan in artificial intelligence.

Tokayev said Huang's visit was important for strengthening bilateral cooperation and thanked NVIDIA for its support to the country's AI ecosystem. Noting that AI and digitalization are among Kazakhstan's national priorities, he said the cooperation would speed up work in these areas. Tokayev also presented Huang with the first-class Dostyk (Friendship) state order for his contributions to AI development in Kazakhstan.

Huang: Energy, data and computing capacity are key

Huang said AI is not just a set of digital products but a new industrial field, stressing its importance for national development and global competitiveness. He said developing and running these systems requires energy, data and high computing power, and that Kazakhstan can turn its natural resources into added value in technology.

In the future, instead of only exporting energy, you can convert energy into AI capacity and export that capacity.

Huang

Huang said data reflects the culture, history and values of societies, so it should be treated as a strategic resource and countries should build AI capacity by processing their own data. He added that countries should be able to deliver AI services to their people through their own power grids, internet and telecommunications infrastructure.

Saying that adapting open-source technologies to local languages, cultures and needs would help countries build their own AI infrastructure, Huang said Kazakhstan has major opportunities thanks to its human resources in science, mathematics and technology. He said the country could become one of the global centers of physical AI, which depends on skilled people as well as energy resources.

Huang welcomed Kazakhstan's goal of developing and spreading AI and said he supports its approach of placing AI at the center of national development. He also said cooperation between NVIDIA and Kazakhstan has made significant progress over the past year and that partnerships with Kazakh technology companies are being developed.