At first glance, autonomous freight transport might seem like a niche technological advance. However, it intersects with several pivotal shifts reshaping Eurasia and beyond. First, it speaks directly to the region’s longstanding challenge: inefficient border procedures and cumbersome transit corridors that have historically impeded trade flows between Europe and Asia. Second, it reflects a wider recognition among emerging powers that technology is both an instrument of development and a domain of strategic competition. Finally, it underscores the potential for South–South cooperation in infrastructure and digital transformation beyond dependency on Western technological standards.

Eurasian Integration and the Transit Imperative

Kazakhstan sits at the heart of the overland link between Europe and Asia. Its geography, bridging China’s western provinces with Russia, the Caucasus, and Europe has long made it a linchpin in regional logistics. However, in practice, transit across Eurasia is often slowed by border controls, administrative bottlenecks, and fragmented infrastructure standards. These barriers not only inflate costs for shippers but also weaken the competitiveness of overland routes relative to maritime alternatives.

By introducing autonomous freight vehicles, Kazakhstan aims to minimise the time lost at frontier points, particularly where human drivers must undergo passport and customs procedures. Sauranbayev’s argument is clear, if the vehicle, rather than the driver, can cross borders independently, transit can become faster and more predictable. For the EAEU, whose members include Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, this offers a shared advantage of streamlined cross‑border logistics that could help retain freight flows within the regional bloc and strengthen collective economic integration.

In this respect, the driverless lorry project advances what scholars and policymakers describe as the transition from “political regionalism” to “functional regionalism”, integration grounded in practical cooperation on infrastructure, standards, and economic interoperability. Rather than relying solely on high‑level diplomatic commitments, driverless freight demands coordination on road sensors, digital communication protocols, legal frameworks and harmonised cross‑border regulations. This is the kind of institutional deepening that gives regional integration substance, not just rhetoric.

Tech Sovereignty and the BRICS Digital Agenda

For BRICS, a grouping increasingly focused on digital cooperation, infrastructure financing, and industrial modernisation, Kazakhstan’s initiative resonates with multiple priorities.

BRICS leaders have repeatedly underscored the importance of inclusive digital transformation as a foundation for sustainable development. In the recent BRICS frameworks on technology and innovation, there is an explicit call to support emerging economies in building digital ecosystems that reflect their interests and contexts, rather than depending on Western providers and standards alone.

Driverless transport systems are not just vehicles; they are complex digital ecosystems. They require advanced sensors, real‑time data processing, reliable connectivity, and secure cross‑border digital integration. If Kazakhstan and its EAEU partners can build these systems indigenously or in partnership with BRICS countries like Russia, China, and India, they will be doing more than improving logistics, they will be demonstrating technology sovereignty in practice.

This matters because much of the current autonomous vehicle development is led by companies and research institutions based in the United States or Western Europe. If portions of the Global South can develop parallel technologically advanced, interoperable systems, it reduces dependency on Western tech infrastructures, and opens space for alternative standards that better reflect diverse socioeconomic and regulatory environments.

Implications for the Global South

Kazakhstan’s plans also hold lessons for the broader Global South. Many middle‑income economies in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia , face similar transit inefficiencies and infrastructural bottlenecks. The idea of driverless freight transcends geography because it tackles the universal development constraints of cost, delay, and unpredictability in supply chains.

For countries grappling with similar issues, including those in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and ASEAN, the Kazakh example demonstrates how innovative logistics solutions can be integrated into wider regional economic strategies. If nations in the Global South adopt similar technologies in collaboration with partners, they can strengthen their position in global value chains, attract investment, and reduce the infrastructure gap that continues to disadvantage emerging economies.

Moreover, the environmental benefits of autonomous, electric freight which Kazakhstan also highlights, align with the sustainable development goals that many Global South countries have adopted. Cleaner, more efficient freight transport could help reduce carbon emissions and curb pollution along major corridors.

If successfully implemented, Kazakhstan’s driverless freight project could become a proof point for a new model of transport cooperation, one that blends technological ambition with regional economic strategy. For BRICS and the Global South, it illustrates how emerging powers can shape infrastructure and innovation pathways that reflect their development priorities, reduce external dependencies, and promote inclusive growth.

Written By: 

*Dr Iqbal Survé

Past chairman of the BRICS Business Council and co-chairman of the BRICS Media Forum and the BRNN

*Chloe Maluleke

Associate at BRICS+ Consulting Group 

Russian & Middle Eastern Specialist

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