Proposing Italian University Branches Expansion in Kazakhstan - Toqaev's Plan
In a significant step towards deepening cooperation, Kazakhstan and Italy held their inaugural "Central Asia - Italy" summit on May 30, 2025, in Astana. The summit aimed to bolster collaboration in education, engineering, and cultural exchange.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the gathering, acknowledging that around 4,000 Kazakh students are currently pursuing their studies in Italy, with support from Italian government grants and scholarships. Expressing gratitude, he invited Italian technical universities to consider establishing branches in Kazakhstan to enhance engineering and technical education in the country.
To foster cultural and humanitarian ties further, President Tokayev proposed a series of joint events in 2026 under the auspices of the Year of Cultural Rapprochement between Central Asia and Italy. He expressed confidence that the proposals made during the summit would be reflected in the Joint Declaration to be adopted following the meeting.
The previous day, President Tokayev warmly welcomed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni upon her arrival in the capital. The staged ceremonial welcome ceremony was followed by talks between the two leaders, with Tokayev expressing optimism about the discussions' potential to provide a fresh impetus to bilateral relations.
The discussions was held in an expanded format, involving delegations from both countries. Tokayev underscored the close political dialogue established between the two nations, the steady growth of economic cooperation, and the active strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties.
During the summit, Tokayev also discussed ongoing tariff conflicts in the world and outlined his vision for prospective areas of interaction with Italy. In recognition of Meloni's prominence in global politics, Tokayev referred to her as a leading political figure of the current era.
The summit marks a milestone in the expanding collaboration between Kazakhstan and Italy, with an emphasis on innovation, technology, and education. Italian companies have already invested over $7.6 billion in Kazakhstan over the past two decades, and further agreements are expected to boost industrial development and investment in strategic sectors such as mineral extraction.
The establishment of the Institute of Italian Culture in Almaty and the prioritization of technology parks and artificial intelligence technologies by Kazakhstan underscore the commitment to strengthening cultural exchange and enhancing the technology sector. Both nations have echoed their desire to solidify educational and cultural cooperative ties as a cornerstone of their bilateral relations.
As the summit concludes, it is expected that the collaborative venture between Kazakhstan and Italy will expand in multiple dimensions, focusing on education, engineering, and cultural exchange, with a strong emphasis on innovation and technology.
- President Tokayev suggested establishing Italian technical universities within Kazakhstan to bolster engineering and technical education, which falls under the category of education-and-self-development and career-development.
- The Year of Cultural Rapprochement between Central Asia and Italy, proposed by President Tokayev, aims to further foster humanitarian ties, focusing on cultural exchange and personal-growth.
- The close political dialogue, steady economic cooperation, and active strengthening of cultural and humanitarian ties established between Kazakhstan and Italy are areas of policy-and-legislation interest.
- The expansion of Italian companies' investments in Kazakhstan, particularly in strategic sectors like mineral extraction, underlines the importance of learning and skills-training for the growth of general-news-worthy industrial development.
