The Qazaqstan IGF 2024, a national forum aimed at fostering an open and secure internet space in Kazakhstan, has concluded in Almaty.
The context of the panel session titled “Multilateral Internet Governance as a Means to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals” was set by recent global events that are critically important for everyone.
Recall that on September 22-23 in New York, at the United Nations headquarters, the Summit for the Future took place – a global event that resulted in the adoption of the “Pact for the Future,” the “Global Digital Compact,” and the Declaration on Future Generations. During the summit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Murat Nurtleu expressed Kazakhstan's full support for these landmark documents aimed at strengthening multilateral cooperation and creating an effective global system to address existential issues, including climate change, technological transformation, and security threats. In addition to classic topics such as peace and security, ecology, climate change, and sustainable development, the agenda of the summit also included issues of digital cooperation and artificial intelligence.
Also in September, the UN-established Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence presented a global action plan to mitigate AI-related risks and promote the universal use of its transformative potential. The plan is outlined in the final report “Governance of Artificial Intelligence in the Interest of Humanity.” It proposes that the international community undertake several measures, including establishing the foundations of a global AI governance architecture based on international collaboration; addressing gaps in existing AI governance mechanisms; and working together in the field of AI governance to promote development and protect human rights.
Sargsyan Darbinyan, the session moderator, noted that Kazakhstan seeks to maintain a balance between international cooperation and national interests in digital development. The country continues to actively develop its digital ecosystem and aims for leadership in the GovTech sector. In 2024, Kazakhstan ranked 24th in the digital government rating, indicating a relatively high level of digitalization of services and processes within the country. Kazakhstan's position on the global stage is also strengthening: both within the SCO and the UN.
“There is ongoing work related to the implementation of the SDGs. Recently, the UN country team, in collaboration with the government of Kazakhstan, held a workshop on strategic priorities to discuss expected outcomes of the framework cooperation program for sustainable development for 2026-2030. This event marks an important step in shaping how the United Nations will support Kazakhstan's national development over the next five years,” the moderator noted.
Vlastimil Samek, representative of the UN Department of Global Communications and head of the UN Information Office in Kazakhstan, explained: “We are currently in the second phase of our collaborative partnership, which ends in 2025. We are already beginning discussions for a continuation that will run from 2026 to 2030. By 2030, we expect to reach a culmination and conclusion of the implementation process of the sustainable development goals. Due to the COVID pandemic, it is already clear that not all goals will be achieved. We anticipate that starting in 2030, there will be a next phase dedicated to the sustainable development of the world and humanity. This phase is projected to last until 2045, when the UN will celebrate its 100th anniversary.”
Continuing the discussion, Jaap Ora, the extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Kazakhstan, shared Estonia's achievements in the field of digital technologies, specifically discussing X-Road – a platform for cross-border data exchange that enables governmental organizations from different countries to interact.
“Estonia is a pioneer in global digital transformation. We started very early and have already achieved a fully digital society in Estonia. We have shared our experiences in Kazakhstan and other countries. As mentioned, Kazakhstan is rising in the digital government ranking. Estonia holds the second position in this ranking. So, we look forward to seeing you among the top three countries. Estonia's next goal in the digital society is to create active, flexible, personalized governance, where services respond very quickly to changes and can meet the individual and personal needs of all users,” said the ambassador.
Among the important principles guiding Estonia in its digital development are open infrastructure and a multilateral approach to internet governance.
“We support the principles of a digital society: openness, inclusiveness, efficiency, and security. Another issue is the multilateral approach to internet governance. We believe this is a very important foundation. We cannot solve all internet governance issues solely through government decisions. The participation of all stakeholders is necessary: the private sector, governmental organizations, interested groups, and so on. In Estonia, these principles are crucial and form the basis of our success. We advocate for these principles to be upheld on the international stage,” Jaap Ora emphasized.
The moderator, continuing the discussion, reminded everyone of the global digital compact, which states that achieving the goals set by governments is impossible without the private sector. “A lot of hope is placed on the private sector, including the corporation ICANN, which is engaged in an important task – distributing domain and network addresses worldwide, managing these addresses, and creating new opportunities.”
Mikhail Anisimov, ICANN manager for global interaction in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, expressed a desire to continue the conversation about the “Global Digital Compact” and the importance of multilateral involvement in the development of the internet.
“The digital environment is structured in an interesting way. A very significant part of its infrastructure, such as domain names and IP addresses, has historically been managed by non-governmental organizations like ICANN and others. Although the state is a crucial stakeholder with its own interests that must be respected, solely governmental discussions cannot ensure the full representation of interests necessary for the stable and sustainable development of the internet. Therefore, the term ‘multistakeholder models’ emerged, or models involving various stakeholders,” the speaker stated.
Mikhail Anisimov expressed concerns about the future development of the digital environment: “The IGF mandate, created in 2005, was established with the expectation that it would be reviewed after a certain period. The last review occurred in 2014. At that time, there were already attempts by some states to make it a bit more government-centric, excluding non-state actors from this process, which was quite a troubling signal and sparked much discussion. It ended with the current mandate being extended and the multistakeholder model being fixed in these documents. However, nearly ten years have passed, and in 2025, there will be another review. Currently, the positions of the parties are significantly more, shall we say, vulnerable. There are increasing discussions about the notion that only states and intergovernmental organizations should make all major decisions related to the development of the internet. This raises questions, as non-state actors still carry out a substantial amount of work. Ignoring their opinions is a rather reckless act that could lead to various risks.”
In his view, the “Global Digital Compact” has become an important step in addressing this issue, although it is not directly related to the review of the IGF mandate; its interpretation offers hope. The compact was discussed for almost three years, and during that time, its text was changed five times. “In the final version, there is a line stating that we welcome a multilateral approach in which all stakeholders have an equal voice and equal weight for its further development. Another important point I noted is that the digital compact is built around principles of responsible engagement. This narrative has emerged relatively recently. Previously, there were still some illusions that there might be a global coordinator who would handle everything through external efforts. The compact was adopted as part of the ‘Pact for the Future,’ which was discussed on September 23 in New York, but in December, each specific state or participant will be invited to express whether they personally support it or have any comments. The final point of this dialogue will be September 2025, when the IGF mandate will be extended in its current form. This has a direct bearing on how the internet develops in all countries, including Kazakhstan, as it serves as a model discussion that replicates further,” Mikhail Anisimov reported.
The moderator of the discussion noted that 2024 has become significant in addressing many issues. Not only was the global digital compact adopted, but on August 14, the special UN committee presented a new draft convention on cybercrime, which is set to replace the Budapest Convention. Despite Kazakhstan's long-standing efforts to join the Budapest Convention, which opens broader opportunities for combating cybercrime, it still maintains a cautious position, refraining from signing international documents.
Ruslan Daiyrbekov, co-founder of the