On 8 December 2025, Mrs. Piyapin Niyomrerks, Ambassador of Thailand to Kazakhstan, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Sayasat Nurbek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, to discuss ways to advance academic and educational cooperation between Thailand and Kazakhstan, an area of collaboration with significant potential. On this occasion, Minister Nurbek shared information on Kazakhstan’s strategy to strengthen its higher education system, particularly by partnering with leading international universities to establish their branches in Kazakhstan, with the aim of positioning the country as a regional hub for academic and research excellence.

Both sides also exchanged views on practical approaches to expanding academic and educational cooperation between the two countries. Minister Nurbek emphasized the promotion of opportunities for Thai students to pursue studies in Kazakhstan through the government’s scholarship programme, which offers up to 550 scholarships per year for international students, as well as plans to organize a Kazakhstan education fair in Thailand. He further expressed support for enhanced cooperation between higher education institutions of both countries through student and faculty exchange programmes. Ambassador Niyomrerks agreed on the importance of fostering sustained educational collaboration to promote people-to-people interactions and deepen mutual understanding between the Thai and Kazakhstani peoples, while also raising wider public awareness of the strengths and potential of higher education institutions in both countries. The Ambassador also briefed the Minister on various academic initiatives undertaken by the Royal Thai Embassy over the past three years to promote academic and educational linkages, including the upcoming programme on academic cooperation between Thailand and Central Asian countries, scheduled for February 2026, which will feature participation from Kazakhstani scholars.

At present, Kazakhstan hosts more than 40 branches and deep collaborative partnerships with foreign higher education institutions, such as the University of Arizona, De Montfort University, Cardiff University, Coventry University, Heriot-Watt University, Queen’s University Belfast, IMT Mines Albi, KAIST, Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Ufa State Petroleum Technological University, Lu Ban Workshop, and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). These institutions help to advance education and research in a wide range of fields, including engineering, mining and rare-earth technologies, artificial intelligence, data science, energy, medical technology, logistics and supply chain management, and business administration, reflecting Kazakhstan’s commitment to elevating the quality of its higher education system.