US Commits $5 Million to Central Asia Digital Security

The United States committed $5 million through CRDF Global to support cybersecurity and the digital sector in Central Asia, according to The Astana Times. Officials from Kazakhstan, other Central Asian countries and the United States discussed AI, digital infrastructure and economic cooperation at the C5+1 SI Conference in Astana on September 29.

The funding will cover cyber hygiene, incident response, critical infrastructure protection, financial sector security and cybersecurity policy. Participants also discussed common digital frameworks, personal data protection, intellectual property rules and a coordinated approach to data center infrastructure.

Kazakhstan identified energy, water, advanced chips, GPUs, information systems and data as core requirements for an AI economy. Tajikistan said it is revising its national AI strategy, plans to raise AI's targeted contribution to GDP from 5% to 8%, and will allocate 100 megawatts of green energy to AI data centers, with a goal of reaching 1 gigawatt by 2030.

Tajikistan also invited regional governments, US companies and the US government to participate in a planned Central Asian Regional AI Development Center.