Türkiye and Kazakhstan Push $15 Billion Trade Goal Before Turkic AI Summit
By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Türkiye and Kazakhstan moved to deepen their strategic partnership in Astana on May 14, placing trade, defence industry, energy and transport links at the centre of talks one day before Turkic leaders gather in Turkistan for a summit on artificial intelligence and digital development.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was received by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the Palace of Independence in Astana with an official ceremony before the two leaders held talks and chaired the sixth meeting of the Türkiye-Kazakhstan High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council.
The visit gives Ankara a concrete Central Asian platform before the Organization of Turkic States shifts its agenda toward AI, digital innovation and regional connectivity. The bloc's informal summit will be held in Turkistan on May 15 under the official theme of "Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development."
Strategic Council Meets in Astana
The Astana talks followed a visit schedule that Kazakhstan's presidency had already framed as a state visit tied to the High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council and the Turkic States summit. In March, the Kazakh presidency said the May 14 visit and the council meeting were expected to give new momentum to the bilateral strategic partnership.
Erdoğan's delegation reflected the weight of the agenda. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yaşar Güler, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır and Trade Minister Ömer Bolat were among the senior officials accompanying the Turkish president, placing diplomacy, defence, industry, technology and trade inside the same visit framework.
At the council meeting, Erdoğan said Türkiye and Kazakhstan aimed to raise bilateral trade to $15 billion. Kazakh state news agency Qazinform, citing Akorda, reported that Erdoğan also stressed the importance of implementing the action plan adopted at the 14th meeting of the Joint Economic Cooperation Commission in Astana on April 15.
Trade, Defence and Transport on the Same Table
The $15 billion trade goal gives the visit a measurable economic target. Türkiye and Kazakhstan have discussed the figure in previous high-level contacts, but the Astana meeting placed it alongside defence industry cooperation, energy security, transport links and broader Central Asian connectivity.
That mix matters for Türkiye's regional positioning. Kazakhstan is not only a major Central Asian economy. It is also a key state in trans-Caspian transport, Middle Corridor logistics and energy routes that connect Central Asia to the South Caucasus and Türkiye.
The transport file is especially important. Any expansion of Caspian transit, rail and logistics capacity would strengthen the wider Middle Corridor architecture that Ankara has promoted as a route linking China, Central Asia, the Caspian, the South Caucasus and Türkiye to European markets.
Turkic AI Summit Follows
The timing of the visit gives the Astana talks a wider Turkic frame. The Turkistan summit on May 15 will bring together leaders and observers of the Organization of Turkic States, with foreign ministers meeting before the heads of state session.
The OTS said the summit will focus on how artificial intelligence, digital innovation and emerging technologies can support sustainable economic growth, modernize public services and strengthen regional connectivity. That language pushes the Turkic platform beyond cultural solidarity and into governance, infrastructure and technology policy.
Erdoğan's message that the coming period should become a "Turkic World Century" gives the Turkish side a political slogan for the same shift. The practical test will be the degree to which Türkiye, Kazakhstan and other Turkic states can turn summit language into projects in digital infrastructure, logistics, finance, energy and defence industry cooperation.
Central Asia Becomes a Practical File
The Kazakhstan visit shows how Türkiye's Central Asia policy is becoming more operational. The same trip links a strategic council meeting, a trade target, cabinet-level economic and defence participation, a business forum track and a regional summit focused on AI.
That does not remove the older identity language of the Turkic world. It makes that language more useful for Ankara by attaching it to corridors, investment, defence cooperation and technology. In Astana and Turkistan, Türkiye is trying to place Central Asia inside a policy frame that can serve both geopolitical visibility and practical economic access.
***Sources: Kazakh Presidency, Organization of Turkic States, Anadolu Agency, Qazinform, Turkish official statements.