Kazakhstan proposes joint declaration on responsible AI for Central Asia and Azerbaijan
At the 8th Consultative Meeting in Turkmenbashi on 8 October 2026, Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed that Central Asian states and Azerbaijan jointly draft a declaration on responsible use of artificial intelligence.
President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed preparing a joint declaration on the responsible use of artificial intelligence by the Central Asian states and Azerbaijan, according to Report.az. The proposal came on 8 October 2026 at the 8th Consultative Meeting of Heads of State of Azerbaijan and Central Asia, held in Turkmenbashi, Turkmenistan, and attended by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon and President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
What Tokayev proposed
- A Declaration on the Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence to be drafted jointly by the Central Asian states and Azerbaijan, Report.az reported.
- Speaking at the same meeting, Tokayev said: "In my opinion, we should begin jointly developing approaches that will ensure control over critical technologies," according to APA.
- APA reported that Tokayev linked the proposal to regional security concerns, stating that the use of digital technologies by criminals, "particularly drug cartels", is of particular concern, and that methods of combating such threats need to be adapted to modern conditions.
- Tokayev also told the meeting that preserving peace and stability in the region remains a key priority amid global instability, citing terrorism, drug trafficking and organised crime among existing threats, APA reported.
No text of the declaration has been published, and neither report gave a timeline for drafting or adopting it.
Why it matters
A region-wide AI declaration would be the first instrument of its kind to formally cover Azerbaijan alongside Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, placing Baku inside an emerging regional conversation on AI safety and critical-technology control rather than outside it. Tokayev's framing — tying the proposal to drug trafficking, organised crime and cross-border digital misuse, according to APA — suggests the initial scope would lean towards security cooperation rather than a broad AI rulebook.
For Azerbaijani institutions, any resulting declaration would sit alongside the national Artificial Intelligence Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2025–2028 ("Azərbaycan Respublikasının 2025–2028-ci illər üçün süni intellekt Strategiyası"), approved by President Ilham Aliyev's order, which already assigns the State Service for Special Communications and Information Security (Xüsusi Rabitə və İnformasiya Təhlükəsizliyi Dövlət Xidməti) the task of analysing information-security risks in state bodies that apply AI, according to News.Az. A regional declaration on responsible use would not replace that domestic framework, but it is the kind of multilateral commitment Azerbaijani agencies would need to reconcile with it once a text exists.
