Central Asia can compete for technology and investment not as five separate digital markets, but as a single, interconnected technology region. With the support of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, representatives of Central Asian business associations, IT companies, entrepreneurial and expert associations and the public sector met in Astana at the regional round table "Integrating Central Asian countries into the digital agenda". The main theme of the meeting was the transition from five distinct digital markets in the region to an interoperable digital space. The round table was held as part of the B5+1 Cycle III cooperation and serves as a platform for discussing specific initiatives that the business community proposes to include in the regional business agenda for 2027. The main topics of discussion are what should be done to significantly simplify the work of IT companies and expand their access to regional markets. Throughout the year, the IT and Artificial Intelligence Regional Working Group held national and regional consultations with entrepreneurs, industry associations and experts. In the previous cycle, business associations representing more than 60 enterprises and organizations from Central Asia and the United States, including Meta, Mastercard, Google and others, participated in the consultation process. The economic logic of the initiative is to gradually change the way the international technology industry views Central Asia: not five separate markets, but an interconnected digital region with more than 80 million people. One of the main documents of the round table was the draft agreement between Central Asian states on cooperation in the field of digital policy and management of artificial intelligence prepared by experts. Its main feature is that countries do not have to adopt the same digital laws or create a supranational regulatory body. A flexible model is proposed: each country retains its national legislation and digital sovereignty, but states gradually ensure the compatibility of their legal regimes and digital systems. In practice, this includes the ability to coordinate approaches to electronic document management and digital identity, personal data protection, cyber security and artificial intelligence regulation. The project also aims to create conditions for mutual recognition of electronic documents, electronic signatures and digital identification tools. This should reduce administrative and legal barriers for businesses and facilitate the cross-border provision of digital services. "Our goal is not to create another level of regulation. We need to build digital bridges between Central Asian countries. If electronic documents, digital identity, data management rules and artificial intelligence approaches are compatible, it will be much easier for technology companies to expand across the region," said Aziza Shujeeva, chairman of the board of the non-governmental organization "TechnoWomen". The second important initiative presented at the round table is a draft code of ethics for the responsible use of artificial intelligence in Central Asia. The document proposes common ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence for five countries, while maintaining the primacy of national legislation. The Code is advisory in nature and does not intend to establish a supranational artificial intelligence regulator or to mandate mandatory certification or accreditation of artificial intelligence systems. The project is based on a simple principle: technology can help people make decisions, but it should not replace human responsibility. If a decision significantly affects human rights and interests, it cannot be made solely by an algorithm. It is recommended to establish the right to know whether a person is interacting with artificial intelligence, to receive a clear explanation of the result and to request a human review of the problem. The draft also defines a minimum list of unacceptable practices: the use of artificial intelligence for the harmful manipulation of people, the exploitation of the vulnerability of children and other groups, discriminatory practices, the illegal use of personal data and the creation of synthetic content for the purpose of fraud or harm. Artificial intelligence must understand Central Asian languages. The Code focuses on a particularly important issue for Central Asia: linguistic and cultural diversity. It recommends the development of regional language resources and datasets to ensure that the quality of artificial intelligence services is independent of the user's language. This requires creating conditions for modern artificial intelligence systems to work effectively with Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and other languages ​​of the region. The code also includes protections against algorithmic discrimination, support for gender equality, and greater participation of women in the development, implementation, and evaluation of artificial intelligence systems. Special attention is also paid to the impact of technology on children, the elderly, the disabled, and people in rural areas. The participants of the round table will discuss not only conceptual documents, but also concrete business proposals that can form the basis of interstate cooperation. One of the proposed mechanisms is to create a permanent regional platform for dialogue between the public and private sectors, so that new regulations in the field of digitization and artificial intelligence can be discussed with businesses in the development phase. Another direction is to strengthen dialogue with global technology companies, cloud providers, telecommunications operators and investors. The goal is to understand the regulatory and infrastructural barriers that currently hinder large-scale investment in Central Asia. The organizers and participants of the working group hope that the results of the round table will be used in the further development of the B5+1 regional business agenda for 2027. In the long term, the challenge is much broader than individual regulatory initiatives. The goal is to create conditions so that a startup or technology company established in Astana, Tashkent, Bishkek, Dushanbe or Ashgabat can consider the neighboring countries not as five new markets that can be developed from scratch, but as a single space for expanding their business. The main takeaway from the roundtable is that Central Asia can compete for technology and investment as a single, interconnected technology region, rather than as five separate digital markets.