Astana, November 5. The Aqaba Process summit, which Kazakhstan will host together with Jordan, will take place in Astana on November 6, and its theme is security in the sphere of artificial intelligence, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Tokayev called it a great honour to co-organise the first meeting of this kind in Central Asia and added that the summit would let the region present its vision and give new impetus to efforts to maintain peace and security. The King, for his part, thanked him for jointly organising the new round of meetings and confirmed his interest in expanding cooperation with Kazakhstan on regional security and in countering terrorism and extremism.
As Kursiv writes, the theme includes countering the use of AI for terrorist and extremist purposes. According to Trend’s description of the format, it is an informal high-level dialogue involving heads of state, representatives of military and security bodies, experts and international organisations, among them the United Nations (UN) and Interpol. Its tasks include exchanging intelligence and experience and coordinating responses to new threats, including those linked to drones and other modern technologies.
Central Asian leaders have already arrived in Astana for the meeting. Akorda reported that Tajik President Emomali Rahmon had arrived on an official visit lasting until November 7, and that Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the King of Jordan were also in the capital. Tokayev met Rahmon at the airport in person. Tokayev had last met the Tajik president in Astana on July 29, at the opening of the Games of the Future, Kursiv recalls. Akorda has not published a full list of summit participants; the attendance of other leaders was unconfirmed when this report was published.
What it means: The Aqaba Process, created to fight terrorism, moves the conversation in Astana to technology: the agenda covers not only the threats themselves but how artificial intelligence changes them.
Who benefits: Kazakhstan and Jordan as organisers, and the Central Asian leaders who get the floor on security. The result, according to Tokayev, should be a vision of the region, but which documents will be adopted will be clear after the meeting.
Background: The Aqaba Process is an initiative of the King of Jordan, launched in 2015 to coordinate the fight against terrorism.
We have also reported on three days of visits, on the King of Jordan receiving the Al-Farabi Order and on Rustami Emomali’s award.
