Key facts
- Central Asian leaders met in Astana on November 6 under the Aqaba Process format to discuss militant use of AI.
- Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Tashkent was ready to host a Central Asian branch of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism.
- Mirziyoyev proposed a program called Enlightenment Against Ignorance in the Digital Age under Tashkent's Center for Islamic Civilization.
- The report said Tajikistan has seen multiple cross-border armed incidents over the past year.
- Watchdog groups recorded an increase in armed clashes in 2026 involving Taliban forces and renegade groups in northern Afghanistan, per the report.
Central Asian leaders met in Astana on November 6 for talks under a format known as the Aqaba Process, focused on how militant groups can use artificial intelligence to enable terrorism, Eurasianet reported. The discussion covered deep fakes used to spread propaganda and disinformation and to aid recruitment, and ways militants can use AI to hinder government investigations.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said Tashkent was ready to host a Central Asian branch of the United Nations' Office of Counter-Terrorism to improve regional cooperation on "reporting terrorist content, detecting terrorist financing [and] training specialists." He said AI could help officials detect and disrupt militant activity more efficiently, and also widen access to education and economic opportunity in ways that make people less susceptible to militant messages.
"Quality education and the creation of conditions for people to realize their full potential are considered an important foundation of security," a readout of the meeting issued by Mirziyoyev's office said. "The common goal should be to turn new technologies not into a source of threats but into a powerful tool for ensuring peace, security, and human development." Mirziyoyev also proposed a program called Enlightenment Against Ignorance in the Digital Age, to operate under the auspices of Tashkent's Center for Islamic Civilization.
The report said security threats from militant groups based in Afghanistan remain a concern for Central Asian leaders, citing multiple cross-border armed incidents in Tajikistan over the past year and an increase in armed clashes in 2026 involving Taliban forces and renegade groups in northern Afghanistan, as recorded by watchdog groups.