Kazakhstan and South Korea have signed a memorandum providing for the transfer and localization of unmanned aircraft systems traffic management technology in Kazakhstan, the country's Ministry of Transport press service said. The signing took place on 15 September in Seoul during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's state visit.
The document was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of AI and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, Transport Minister Nurlan Sauranbayev, and South Korea's Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) Kim Yoon-deok.
Per the Ministry, the cooperation involves transferring and localizing modern digital technologies for managing low-altitude airspace and building a technological foundation for the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems, eVTOL, and other forms of air transport into Kazakhstan's unified digital ecosystem. It separately provides for transferring technology and digital solutions for local deployment of a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system in Kazakhstan.
Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) and Kazakhstan's Alatau Advance Air Group Ltd. (AAAG) were named as the project's implementing partners. Kazakhstan's Transport Ministry will consider applying a regulatory sandbox for project participants.
The air mobility agreement was part of a package of 12 intergovernmental and interdepartmental documents signed by Kazakhstan and Korea following the visit — alongside nuclear energy, oil, urban and infrastructure development, intellectual property, and science. The total value of commercial agreements reached with Korean partners during the visit was $19 billion.