Kazakhstan names new labor and social protection minister

27.01.2026, 18:55 3176

Tokayev says constitutional reform will positively boost Kazakhstan’s development

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday held a meeting with Chair of the Constitutional Commission - Constitutional Court Chair Elvira Azimova, the Commission’s Deputy Chair - State Counselor Erlan Karin, and member of the Commission - Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs Yerzhan Zhienbayev, Qazinform News Agency cites Akorda.

The Head of State was briefed on the outcomes of the Constitutional Commission meeting held on January 26. Azimova said that to ensure transparency the Commission provides live streams of all meetings in the media space, including via the dedicated channel on Telegram.

The Commission’s chair said an extensive public debate on the constitutional reform took place throughout six months. Over 2,000 initiative proposals from citizens, legal scholars, experts, lawyers, political parties, NGOs, professional and business communities were received via electronic platforms.

It was noted that new editions of the preamble, a number of articles and sections of the Constitution were developed and reviewed at the previous meetings of the Commission.

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27.01.2026, 15:30 2571

Zhakupova relieved of post as Kazakhstan's labor and social protection minister

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The Head of State issued a decree removing Svetlana Zhakupova as Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Qazinform News Agency reports via Akorda.

Born in Karaganda region, Zhakupova graduated from the Tselinograd State Pedagogical Institute, Almaty Academy of Economics and Statistics. On September 2, 2023, Zhakupova was appointed as the minister of labor and social protection of the population of Kazakhstan. She was reappointed to the minister position in February 2024.

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27.01.2026, 13:40 3691

Government Approved the Unified "Children of Kazakhstan" Concept

was reviewed. Reports were delivered by Minister of Education Zhuldyz Suleimenova, Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova, and Minister of Internal Affairs Yerlan Sadenov, primeminister.kz reports.

Today, Kazakhstan is home to approximately 7 million children, which accounts for more than one third of the country’s population, or 34%.

The future of the country depends on the conditions in which our children grow up. That is why, at the National Kurultai, the Head of State instructed the development of a unified ‘Children of Kazakhstan’ Concept. Comprehensive care for children is our top priority, and the state is implementing a set of measures aimed at improving the quality of life of children. The ‘Children of Kazakhstan’ Concept includes a specific action plan to protect children’s rights in the fields of education, healthcare, safety, social protection, and family well-being," Olzhas Bektenov emphasized.

It was noted that in recent years a number of measures have been taken to improve the system for protecting children’s rights.

The legislative framework has been significantly expanded, particularly with regard to ensuring the inevitability of punishment for crimes committed against children.
A unified contact center 111 operates on issues related to family matters and the protection of the rights of women and children. Assistance is provided and inspections are conducted for all appeals.
Regional commissioners for children’s rights operate in all regions.

From February 1, a special procedure for control and supervision of educational organizations based on the principle of unannounced inspections is being introduced. These measures concern issues of child safety, health improvement, and nutrition. In this regard, the Prime Minister instructed the Ministries of Healthcare, Education, Culture, Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Tourism, and Internal Affairs, together with regional akimats, to form by January 30 of the current year a register of facilities subject to special control and supervision.

To strengthen the protection of children’s rights, a new staffing standard for guardianship authorities has been introduced, providing for at least one specialist per 5,000 children. This made it possible to increase the number of such specialists by more than three times within one year. Based on these specialists, regional departments for the protection of children’s rights are being established.

At the same time, Olzhas Bektenov noted that in a number of regions work in this area is being carried out insufficiently actively. Such work has been completed only in Akmola Region, Aktobe Region, and in the capital. The remaining akimats were instructed to complete the establishment of the relevant departments within two months.

Attention was drawn to the implementation of a new form of family placement-the professional foster family-which has been in effect since July 1 of last year. Funding has been allocated for these purposes; however, work on introducing this mechanism has not been sufficiently intensified in the regions. Akimats were instructed to take the necessary measures.

The Prime Minister pointed out ongoing problem issues in the field of children’s healthcare, including shortages of medical specialists, medicines, and opportunities for child rehabilitation, as well as a lack of highly specialized professionals such as defectologists, speech therapists, and audiologists for children with special educational needs.

The need was emphasized to strengthen measures to ensure children’s safety, including in the digital environment, and to expand access to supplementary education and modern educational technologies in rural areas. Adolescents face a lack of attention and limited opportunities for self-realization.

It was stressed that work in these areas should be carried out on a systemic basis, with strengthened interagency coordination among the Ministries of Education, Healthcare, Labor and Social Protection, Internal Affairs, and regional akimats.

As a result of achieving the target indicators set out in the Concept, a sustainable system for the development, support, and protection of children should be formed.

The Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Education, together with interested state bodies and akimats, to ensure high-quality and timely implementation of the Concept’s measures, to establish effective interaction with the Commissioner for Children’s Rights, and, jointly with the Ministry of Culture and Information, to organize an information campaign for its implementation.

Following the vote, the Government approved the unified "Children of Kazakhstan" Concept.

Overall coordination has been assigned to Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Culture and Information Aida Balayeva.

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27.01.2026, 11:30 2046

Kazakhstan to digitalize 5 mln geological records by yearend

Kazakhstan is implementing a large-scale project to digitalize geological data using artificial intelligence, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Construction.

The main objective of the digitization effort is to convert historical geological records-around 5 million items created between the 1950s and 1990s and held in geological archives across Kazakhstan-into a machine-readable format using AI technologies. This will provide centralized access to structured, reliable and comprehensive geological data nationwide, a key factor in investment decision-making in the subsoil use sector.

To date, 97.5% of the total volume of primary geological information has already been digitized, amounting to nearly 4.7 million individual data storage items. These include 4,289,571 sheets of paper materials, 250,000 sheets of graphical appendices, 96,020 magnetic tapes and 62,245 cartridges.

The complete digitization and systematization of all geological information in Kazakhstan is expected to be finalized by the end of 2026.

Upon completion, the project is expected to deliver several key outcomes, including the conversion of textual, tabular and graphical data into a machine-readable format, the creation of a structured database based on a comprehensive geographic information system with spatial data filtering capabilities, the training of specialists in artificial intelligence and data science, and the deployment of an interactive map, analytical tools and an intelligent chatbot.

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26.01.2026, 19:50 30781

Kazakhstan and Türkiye Aim to Take Media Cooperation to a New Level

Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Türkiye, Yerkebulan Sapiyev, held a meeting in Istanbul with the leadership of Türkiye’s leading media outlets, including Demirören News Agency and CNN Türk, İhlas News Agency, Kanal 7 and Ülke TV, as well as the Albayrak Media Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan reports.

During the meeting, the parties held comprehensive discussions on the development of information cooperation between Kazakhstan and Türkiye and on elevating mutual engagement in the media sphere to a new level.

Special attention was given to the key priorities outlined in the address of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, delivered at the 5th National Kurultai. In particular, the discussions covered issues related to the modernization of the political system, reform of government institutions, protection of national interests, as well as the development of digitalization and artificial intelligence.

The parties highly appreciated the role of Turkish media in disseminating objective and comprehensive information about the political and socio-economic reforms being implemented in Kazakhstan and expressed confidence in the further strengthening of the information bridge between the two countries.

Mechanisms for more broadly informing the Turkish public about Kazakhstan’s international initiatives and foreign policy priorities were also discussed.

In addition, the Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Istanbul, Nuriddin Amankul, noted the dynamic growth of cooperation between the two countries in the trade, economic and investment spheres, emphasizing the important role of mass media in this process.

Following the meetings, the parties expressed their readiness to deepen information and humanitarian ties aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Türkiye. It was emphasized that the meeting would make a significant contribution to the further development of friendly relations between the two countries and to the objective coverage of key issues on the regional and global agenda.

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26.01.2026, 15:45 29541

President calls for fundamental rethink of cybercrime-fighting methods

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Speaking at a meeting at the Prosecutor General's Office on Monday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stated that law enforcement agencies must work proactively to respond to challenges in the digital sphere, Qazinform News Agency cites Akorda.

Each agency develops its digital tools independently, and this occurs unsystematically. While some authorities successfully implement innovations, others continue to spend budget funds in an irrational manner without finding acceptable solutions. In short, this can be called embezzlement. There is no need to mindlessly spend money trying to create something new. I entrust the Government with analyzing and auditing all adopted digital solutions to increase their efficiency. It is necessary to build a unified digital ecosystem with a clear structure and common technological standards for law enforcement agencies," said Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The President highlighted the pressing need to safeguard citizens' personal data.

Cases of personal data leaks in the information space have become more frequent. To ensure maximum protection of personal data, this work should be conducted on a systematic basis," said the Head of State.

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26.01.2026, 13:50 29811

Kazakh Government may be stripped of certain powers

Some powers of the Government of Kazakhstan may be removed from the Constitution, Qazinform News Agency quotes Kazakh Justice Minister Yerlan Sarsembayev as saying.

According to the minister, it is suggested amending Article 5 of the Constitution, which defines the functions of the Government, to exclude the authority to approve state programs, and powers regarding state committees, specifically the right to direct their activities, and to cancel or suspend their acts.

The minister explained that under the new system of state planning, state programs are no longer considered official documents of this system. Instead, they will be developed and approved as needed.

He also noted that committees within the executive branch are now regarded as departments of central executive bodies, meaning there is no longer a need to mention them separately in the Constitution.

As written before, the second meeting of the Constitutional Commission has started its work today in Astana to review proposals on constitutional reform.

During the session, three main speakers, including Justice Minister Yerlan Sarsembayev, Senate deputy Nurlan Beknazarov and Majilis deputy Snezhanna Imasheva, were expected to present legal approaches and amendments based on proposals submitted since October 2025.

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26.01.2026, 12:00 29021

Constitutional Commission reviews provisions on Qurultay and Khalyk Kenesi

The second meeting of the Constitutional Reform Commission focused on the provisions on Qurultay and Khalyk Kenesi (People's Council), Qazinform News Agency reports.

Senator Nurlan Beknazaraov said that in connection with the transition to a unicameral parliament, amendments are planned to several articles of the current Constitution in the section "Parliament," concerning its formation, election, powers, competence, procedures for adopting laws, and the composition of the parliament. At the same time, a number of provisions is proposed to be completely repealed.

According to the draft, the Qurultay of the Republic of Kazakhstan will serve as the highest representative body exercising legislative power. The mandate of the Constituent Assembly commences upon the opening of its inaugural session and concludes with the convening of the first session of the newly elected composition. The organization and activities of the Constituent Assembly, as well as the legal status of its deputies, are determined by constitutional law," emphasized Beknazarov.

The Qurultay will consist of 145 deputies elected through a proportional system in a single nationwide electoral district. The proposed term of office for the deputies is five years. The Commission also discussed the timing of elections, voting procedures, the election of the chairp of the Constituent Assembly, candidate requirements, and restrictions.

In addition, the President proposed to set up a new supreme consultative body - Khalyk Kenesi (People’s Council) of Kazakhstan, which will unite public and political associations and activists, contributing to the development of society and strengthening the country’s unity.

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Kazakhstan names new labor and social protection minister

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