Chief Executive John Lee on Monday witnessed the signing of a number of memoranda of understanding on his first full day of visit to Kazakhstan.

The MOUs were signed during Lee's tour of the Astana Hub – Kazakhstan’s premier technology and innovation park – and the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC).

These included an agreement between Hong Kong’s Belt and Road Office and Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development; separate deals between the Astana Hub and Cyberport, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks and the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park; as well as an agreement between InvestHK and the AIFC.

The chief executive met with Deputy Kazakh Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev at the Astana Hub.

Noting that 2026 has been designated Kazakhstan’s “Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence,” Lee described the Astana Hub as a regional innovation cluster and invited Kazakh tech firms to consider setting up operations in Hong Kong.

He outlined Hong Kong’s own I&T ambitions, pointing to global digital competitiveness rankings and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster.

The CE highlighted infrastructure projects in the Northern Metropolis that aim to deepen industry-research integration.

Lee also visited the AIFC where he met with its governor, Renat Bekturov.

The day was packed with other high-level meetings and site visits as Hong Kong pushes to deepen economic, financial and innovation ties with Central Asia.

Lee met with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who reiterated Kazakhstan's role as a gateway on the Belt and Road and stressed Hong Kong’s ability to connect the mainland with global markets.

Noting that Kazakhstan is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner in Central Asia, the chief executive emphasised mutual opportunities stemming from the country’s push to diversify its economy.

Lee also held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin, where the two sides exchanged views on deepening economic cooperation.

Joining the chief executive's delegation is a Henan firm that specialises in mining development and trading of mineral products and is among the mainland enterprises seeking closer ties with Kazakhstan.

Speaking at an exchange session, Henan Yudi Technology Group chairman and party committee secretary Yu Jiyun said his company has taken part in geological exploration projects in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and it wants to further boost cooperation with Kazakhstan because it doesn't have mining rights there.

"Kazakhstan has rich mineral resources and offers vast development opportunities. Also, Kazakhstan is closely connected with China’s Xinjiang. Cooperation between the two sides offers natural geographical advantages."


Edited by Edmond Fong