Kazakhstan is no longer just an aid recipient.
Through KazAID, the country is increasingly offering not only financial assistance, but also its expertise in public administration, education and digitalization, turning development aid into a distinct instrument of international engagement, DKNews.kz reports.
According to official data from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the total volume of official development assistance projects financed during KazAID’s first five years reached $183 million. The programs covered more than 40 countries.
What makes this figure especially significant is that Kazakhstan is moving beyond the conventional donor model and beginning to export its own institutions, technologies and administrative expertise.
Another figure sits alongside the $183 million
According to KazAID, Kazakhstan also provided more than $34 million in humanitarian assistance over the same five-year period. This amount should not be combined with the $183 million allocated for official development assistance.
Kazakhstan’s Law on Official Development Assistance treats humanitarian assistance separately from ODA. The two figures therefore represent different instruments of state support.
The law was adopted on December 10, 2014. Among its objectives are deeper integration of Kazakhstan into international relations, strengthening regional and global security, and developing political, economic, educational and scientific ties with partner countries.
In other words, Kazakhstan’s own legal framework does not treat international assistance purely as charity. It is also connected to foreign policy and regional cooperation.
KazAID became the national operator in 2020
The Kazakhstan Agency of International Development, or KazAID, was established on December 15, 2020, by government decision. It operates under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and serves as the national operator for official development assistance.
The institutional groundwork had been laid earlier. Kazakhstan approved its official development assistance concept in 2013, followed by a dedicated law a year later.
In 2015, Kazakhstan received Invitee status with the OECD Development Assistance Committee. This is not full membership, but it enables participation in the committee’s work and broader international development dialogue.
Kazakhstan has since continued cooperation with the OECD on standards related to project planning, financing, monitoring and evaluation.
Kazakhstan has begun exporting e-government technology to Africa
One of the most visible changes in Kazakhstan’s donor model is the move from direct financial support toward technology transfer.
In June 2024, Kazakhstan transferred selected e-government components to Sierra Leone and Togo through KazAID. The project was presented by Kazakh authorities as an example of using domestic digital solutions in international cooperation.
Here, Kazakhstan’s export is not oil, grain or cash. It is expertise accumulated through the digitalization of public services.
That approach can create longer-term institutional ties because technology transfer often brings implementation methods, expert networks and administrative know-how with it.
Central Asia and Afghanistan remain the main focus
The primary geographical priorities of Kazakhstan’s official development assistance remain Central Asian countries and Afghanistan.
The OECD’s development cooperation profile for Kazakhstan also indicates that a significant share of assistance is focused on these destinations. Key sectors include education, healthcare, entrepreneurship, public administration and technical assistance.
This geographical focus has direct regional implications for Kazakhstan. The country’s ODA legislation includes regional cooperation, assistance in addressing regional challenges and the protection of national security among the objectives of development aid.
That means programs aimed at training professionals or strengthening institutions in neighboring states cannot be viewed solely as external spending. Within Kazakhstan’s own policy framework, such projects are also tied to the stability of the country’s surrounding region.
Programs for Afghan women began before KazAID was created
Kazakhstan was implementing development assistance projects even before the establishment of KazAID.
In 2017–2018, Kazakhstan worked with the United Nations Development Programme and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organize two seminars for Afghan women. One focused on public administration, while the other covered healthcare.
In 2018, an ODA-funded education project was also launched at Nazarbayev University, providing grants to students from Central Asia and Afghanistan for the 2018–2020 and 2020–2022 academic periods.
KazAID’s five-year review states that more than 10,000 foreign students and trainees from 32 countries studied in Kazakhstan.
That figure helps explain the diplomatic value of education. Funding for a particular program eventually ends, but professional connections formed by graduates who studied in Kazakhstan may continue for years.
Soft power is not measured by money alone
In international relations, “soft power” generally refers to a state’s ability to achieve its goals through attractiveness, reputation, values and expertise rather than direct coercion.
There are clear reasons to view Kazakhstan’s official development assistance through that lens. KazAID’s stated objectives include promoting Kazakhstan’s experience, facilitating knowledge exchange among experts and expanding professional links between countries.
Digital public services provide one of the clearest examples. If a Kazakh technological solution becomes part of another country’s public-sector infrastructure, Kazakhstan is no longer simply a one-time donor. It becomes a partner connected to that country through technology and institutions.
That is what can turn official development assistance into a long-term foreign-policy instrument.
For now, the scale can be expressed in concrete figures: $183 million in ODA projects, more than 40 recipient countries and over $34 million in separate humanitarian assistance.
The more consequential question is no longer how much Kazakhstan spends, but whether the expertise, technology and institutional practices it exports can produce lasting results in partner countries.
Armanay Kabdeshova,
Master’s student in Regional Studies at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
