By Shunli Wang, VP of Huawei Middle East & Central Asia
Digitalization is not only a key driver of economic growth and a way to improve the quality of people’s lives but also a source of inspiration and innovation for Kazakhstan’s vision of building a Digital Kazakhstan. To achieve this vision, Kazakhstan has introduced numerous initiatives and consequently achieved positive results through digital technologies and, in the long term, built the foundation to transition to a ‘fundamentally new development path’ grounded in the digital economy.
The Digital Kazakhstan program covers five areas that are essential for the country’s transformation: Digitization of economic branches, Transition to the digital state, Realizing the Digital Silk Way, Evolution of human capital assets, and Innovative ecosystem formation.
As a leading global provider of information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, Huawei has supported Kazakhstan’s national plans and 2050 Strategy to establish the country as a regional digital hub.
Huawei has been serving the ICT industry in Kazakhstan since 1998. In that time, Huawei has pursued the “in Kazakhstan, for Kazakhstan” vision through the dedicated work of its employees and local partners. Consequently, Huawei has initiated numerous projects to achieve the goals of Digital Kazakhstan.
One of these projects is Huawei’s partnership with the nation’s carriers, recognizing that connectivity is the cornerstone of the digital economy. Huawei is committed to bringing digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world. In Kazakhstan, Huawei is a strategic partner to all telecom operators, providing the latest ICT solutions to transform existing networks to higher performance and quality, focusing on the user experience through intelligent connections. Together with operators, Huawei has helped 85% of Kazakhstan people enjoy advanced network experience, including many people living in rural areas.
Another project is Huawei’s active exploration of the application of innovative technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence in public services, energy, education, medical care, and transportation to ensure and accelerate Kazakhstan’s digitalization process.
Powering this progress is the company’s presence and expertise. Huawei has 207,000 employees and operates in over 170 countries and regions, serving over three billion people worldwide. Further, Huawei is committed to sharing its global knowledge and expertise in the markets it operates in.
With our massive portfolio of global projects, we have numerous successful digitalization use cases in other countries and regions that are transferable to Kazakhstan. For example, Huawei’s Coal Mine Team and CHN Energy worked with partners to develop MineHarmony, a next-generation, industrial Internet operating system specifically designed for mining equipment. This operating system provides a shared language for different types of mining equipment to connect, work together, and incorporate intelligence. At the end of 2022, this system has been deployed in over 3,300 sets of equipment across more than ten coal mines, helping them fully digitize their management and operations.
Another good example comes from the transportation sector. The China-Laos Railway features Huawei Smart Railway Solution, a technology suite that boosts safety and security in all phases, from construction to operation. Huawei has worked closely with Laotian telecom operators to build a high-speed network along the high-speed line. Its stable connection will benefit passengers and rural residents along the way. Working together, Huawei and Kazakhstan can benefit from similar innovations.
Talent is a country’s primary source of wealth and a catalyst for the future. In the new era, digital talent drives digital transformation and unleashes digital productivity. Huawei works hard to build digital skills in the countries and regions where we operate. As a responsible enterprise, Huawei remains committed to openness and collaboration for shared success. With that in mind, the company has been paying attention and contributing to the global ICT talent ecosystem, developing a robust digital talent ecosystem, sharing ICT knowledge and skills, and helping governments and universities cultivate digital talent. This mission aligns with Kazakhstan’s plans to train at least 100,000 highly qualified IT specialists by 2025. To help meet this demand, Huawei Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed an MOU at the International 2022 Digital Bridge Forum to cooperate with Kazakhstan’s leading universities and educational organizations to open Huawei ICT Academy, providing more than 5,000 students with ICT-related knowledge and courses.
To date, Huawei has opened more than 30 ICT Academies in Kazakhstan, training more than 80 qualified teachers, 700 certified students, 3,000 active students, and 3,000 participants in Huawei ICT Competition.
During a visit to China in mid-May, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with Huawei Chairman Liang Hua, and the President welcomed the realization of the project for training highly qualified Kazakhstani specialists in the IT sphere at Huawei ICT Academy. The President has endorsed Huawei Kazakhstan ICT talent cultivation initiatives and local talent nurturing programs.
In addition, Huawei has selected students from local universities to participate in Huawei ICT Competition. Kazakh student teams have performed exemplary in the past four years, entering the global finals every year. In the recently completed Huawei ICT Competition 2022-2023 Global Final, the Kazakh teams won the Network Track first prize and the Cloud Track third prize. “Kazakhstan is today highly acclaimed within Huawei global ICT contests. Our team’s recent win came down to extensive preparation and teamwork,” commented one of the First Prize winners, Aida Begaidarova, in a TV interview.
Another initiative involved in developing skilled local ICT talent and bridging communication between countries and cultures is Seeds for the Future – Huawei’s flagship corporate social responsibility program – which has been running in Kazakhstan since 2018. Eighty Kazakh students interested in the ICT industry and related technical majors have benefitted from the Seeds for the Future two-week training program at Huawei’s headquarters in China between 2018 and 2021.
To support Kazakhstan’s active role in the regional ICT sector, Huawei Middle East & Central Asia organized the flagship Tech Carnival 2023 in Almaty from June 5 to 7. Under the theme of “Leading Digital Infrastructure for New Value Together”, the Summit brought together regional government officials, entrepreneurs, and industry opinion leaders. At the event, Huawei introduced the latest innovations and practices in intelligent cloud networks, F5G and storage technologies that can help build a reliable, simplified, green & data-centric foundation for diverse applications to thrive. The event was an excellent opportunity to explore the infinite possibilities of digitalization and the opportunities for Kazakhstan to transform into a Eurasian digital hub, including Connectivity Hub, Cloud Hub, ICT Talent Hub, and Ecosystem Hub.
Huawei remains committed to actively working with Kazakhstan partners in shared responsibility, joint capability building, and collaboration for a shared success approach. Together with our partners in Kazakhstan, we are working hard to cultivate an ecosystem conducive to healthy and coordinated cross-sector development, driving the digital economy forward, accelerating digital transformation, and helping to speed up the arrival of an intelligent Kazakhstan.
