VEON Group CEO Meets with Kazakh President Tokayev, Reaffirms Commitment to ‘Digital Qazaqstan Strategy’
Astana, Dubai and New York, July 2, 2026: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ:VEON), a global digital operator ("VEON"), announces that Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu met with President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, following his participation in the 38th plenary session of the Foreign Investors Council (FIC), an advisory consultative body for direct dialogue between the Government of Kazakhstan and investors.
At the Council meeting, VEON reaffirmed support for the Digital Qazaqstan Strategy and highlighted progress toward the launch of Direct to Cell technology in Kazakhstan, developed in cooperation with the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. The hybrid solution, combining terrestrial infrastructure with satellite technology, providing 100% coverage of the country, with availability to Kazakhstani citizens planned for August 2026.
"We remain focused on investing in Kazakhstan and building the infrastructure of the future, from telecommunications networks to computing power and AI-based digital services," said Kaan Terzioglu, VEON Group CEO. "Our goal is to help Kazakhstan become not just a consumer of advanced technologies, but a creator, developer and exporter of digital innovation, and we are ready to continue as a reliable long-term partner of the government in building a modern, knowledge-based economy."
The visit builds on a series of recent investments by VEON and Beeline Kazakhstan in the country's digital infrastructure. In December 2025, Beeline Kazakhstan began construction of a Tier III Hyper Cloud data center in Almaty, designed to anchor a sovereign cloud and AI compute ecosystem for the country's enterprise and public sector, with the facility targeted to go live by the end of 2026. Beeline Kazakhstan has also been advancing satellite connectivity in partnership with Starlink Direct to Cell, having completed Central Asia's first field test of voice and SMS services over the network, with a commercial rollout planned to begin with messaging later this year.
During his visit, Kaan also held meeting with Zhaslan Madiyev, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of AI and Digital Development of Kazakhstan.
About VEON
VEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to over 150 million connectivity customers and more than 228 million digital users. Operating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the world's population, VEON is transforming lives through technology driven services that empower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on Nasdaq. For more information, visit: https://www.veon.com
About Beeline Kazakhstan
Beeline Kazakhstan serves 11.7 million customers with mobile connectivity and around one million with fixed internet services. Since 2018, the company has been executing its digital operator strategy. Over the past five years, leveraging its expertise in digital solution development, Beeline Kazakhstan has created an ecosystem of 60 internal and external products. Beeline Kazakhstan is majority-owned by VEON.
Forward Looking Statements Disclaimer
This release contains "forward-looking statements," as the phrase is defined in Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including in relation to VEON’s investment plans in Kazakhstan.
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