Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov took part in the International Geological Forum Geoscience & Exploration of Central Asia (GECA 2026).

The GECA 2026 Forum brought together representatives of international organizations, the diplomatic corps, as well as national and foreign companies.

Speaking at the plenary session of the geological forum, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov congratulated industry specialists on the upcoming professional holiday and emphasized the strategic importance of geological exploration for the sustainable development of the country’s economy and industry.

“This year has become truly historic for the Republic of Kazakhstan – a new Constitution has been adopted, which has created the foundation for the further modernization of society and all spheres of the economy. In the nationwide referendum, the citizens of our country, through their active participation, demonstrated an example of true patriotism by expressing full support for the course of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev. We are already focused on implementing the norms of the Basic Law aimed at increasing the transparency of public administration, forming a favorable investment climate, and developing human capital. The transformations open up new opportunities for the development of the economy, where geological exploration acts as the strategic foundation of our industry,” Olzhas Bektenov emphasized.

On the instruction of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, systemic reforms are being implemented in Kazakhstan in the field of geology and subsoil use, aimed at increasing the investment attractiveness of the industry, modernizing infrastructure, and expanding the use of modern technologies.

An important step was the launch of the Unified Subsoil Use Portal, which ensures transparent access to services. Based on the world’s best practice of “first come, first served”, the processes for granting subsoil use rights have been significantly simplified. This has made it possible to attract about 280 billion tenge of private investment in geological exploration over the past three years.

International standards for reserve reporting have been introduced. For a more sustainable approach to geological research, a transition is being made to the formation of geophysical maps at a scale of 1:50,000. A modern and technological model for the development of the geological industry is being formed. Among the long-term priorities are the involvement of technogenic mineral formations in economic turnover, systematic work on the inventory of groundwater deposits, and the training of specialists of a new formation – geologists, engineers, and analysts capable of working in the conditions of digital transformation of the industry. A geological cluster is being created in Astana, which will include an analytical laboratory, a core storage facility, and a geological information storage facility. The center will unite personnel and technical resources and will contribute to the acceleration of specialized research.

Kazakhstan possesses significant mineral resource potential and is considered by investors as one of the priority regions for exploration, extraction, and processing of minerals. The country has about 10,000 deposits, with total reserves of key raw materials amounting to over 2.3 thousand tons of gold, 4.3 billion tons of oil, 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas, 33.5 billion tons of coal, and 26.7 billion tons of iron. A significant part of the resource base is formed by rare earth metals, including the Kuiryqtykol deposit discovered in 2025 with reserves of about 800 thousand tons of cerium, neodymium, yttrium, and other elements.

As part of the execution of the instruction of the Head of State, work continues to increase the geological and geophysical study of the country’s territory to 2.2 million square kilometers. To date, the indicator has reached almost 2.04 million square kilometers. It was emphasized that funding for geological study of subsoil has been increased tenfold and will amount to about $500 million in the next 3 years.

During the forum, attention was paid to the development of international cooperation and the exchange of experience in the field of geological exploration and subsoil use with the introduction of digital technologies and AI. Comments and proposals on expanding interaction were made by the Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yersaiyn Nagaspayev, Deputy Minister of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan Rustam Yusupov, Head of the Main Department of Geology under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan Ilkhomjon Oymukhammadzoda, and others.

As part of his participation in the forum, the Prime Minister inspected the “Zhas Geolog” stand, the mineral exposition, and the model of the geological cluster.

#Olzhas Bektenov #Geology #International Cooperation

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