The United States and Kazakhstan expanded their civil nuclear energy partnership under the US Department of State's FIRST Programme (Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of SMR Technology) — launching an SMR feasibility study, establishing a regional training hub, and providing a Holtec International SMR classroom simulator to the Kazakhstan Institute of Nuclear Physics in Almaty, implemented by the International Science and Technology Centre (ISTC). The simulator serves as a regional training hub for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Kazakhstan has been a FIRST partner since 2022 and is the programme's first Central Asian partner. Kazakhstan accounts for approximately 40% of global uranium mining making it a strategically critical nuclear partner.