Kazakhstan's creative sector gross value added reaches $3 bln - PMKazakhstan's creative industries are gaining strategic importance, with gross value added in the sector rising by a quarter over the past year to $3 billion, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said."Kazakhstan's creative industry is developing dynamically. New markets and jobs are emerging, and opportunities to export national creative products are expanding," Bektenov told an international conference on cultural ties and creative industries in St. Petersburg.The sector now spans more than 40 types of activity and employs 150,000 people, he said. International rankings reflect the momentum: Kazakhstan has steadily improved its standing in the World Intellectual Property Organization's Global Innovation Index, climbing 32 places in the "creative outputs" category in 2025.Bektenov highlighted President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's initiative to create an Association of Creative Industries of CIS member states as a platform for joint projects, experience sharing and promotion of creative products.Kazakhstan has been building out the sector's infrastructure, establishing a legal framework and setting up a Creative Industries Development Fund last year to support authors, creative teams and entrepreneurs in developing competitive products with strong export potential. Creative hubs now operate in every region, fostering youth initiatives and entrepreneurship.The prime minister said artificial intelligence is reshaping content creation and opening new channels for cultural products. Kazakhstan has declared 2026 the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, with a mandate to digitize all spheres of public life. He cited Kazakh company Higgsfield, a global leader in AI-powered video generation, as proof that the country's talent is setting trends on the world stage.Kazakhstan is also undertaking a large-scale effort to digitize its cultural heritage. A national Digital Copy Bank uses high-precision LiDAR scanning and 3D archiving to preserve historically significant sites, including UNESCO-protected landmarks such as the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, the petroglyphs of Tamgaly, underground mosques in the Mangistau region and other archaeological monuments.A parallel E-Museum platform connects 300 museums and has digitized tens of thousands of exhibits. Work continues on restoring the "Golden Fund of Kazakh Cinema," with 43 films from the past century digitized in recent years.Bektenov said digitalization is broadening access to cultural and historical objects, creating new ways for millions of people to engage with them across borders. At the same time, traditional forms of cultural cooperation within the CIS remain vital to strengthening intercultural dialogue. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX