New Kazakhstan Government Retains Core Economic Team

Kazakhstan completed the formation of its first government under the country’s new unicameral parliament on September 3. Olzhas Bektenov remains prime minister and the core economic team will stay in place, but there were changes at the foreign, culture and information, ecology, and emergency situations ministries. The government resigned on August 28 following the election of the Kurultai, Kazakhstan’s new unicameral parliament, which replaced the Senate and Mazhilis. Ministers continued serving in an acting capacity while the new cabinet was formed. On August 31, the Kurultai approved Bektenov’s candidacy for prime minister. He received 137 votes, with seven lawmakers abstaining and none voting against. Continuity Across the Economic Team The new cabinet is marked above all by continuity. Nurlуbek Nalibayev remains first deputy prime minister. Serik Zhumangarin will continue to combine the positions of deputy prime minister and minister of national economy, while Kanat Bozumbayev remains deputy prime minister. Zhaslan Madiyev retained his dual role as deputy prime minister and minister of artificial intelligence and digital development. Madi Takiyev will continue to head the Finance Ministry, Yersayin Nagaspayev the Ministry of Industry and Construction, and Arman Shakkaliyev the Ministry of Trade and Integration. Yerlan Akkenzhenov remains as energy minister at a difficult time for Kazakhstan’s oil sector. In 2026, the country repeatedly faced disruptions to exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), the main route carrying Kazakh oil through Russia to the Black Sea. Astana is simultaneously trying to increase exports through alternative routes, expand oil refining, and bring new energy capacity online. Nurlan Sauranbayev will continue overseeing transport. Before joining the government in 2025, Sauranbayev spent four years heading Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national railway company. Aidarbek Saparov remains agriculture minister, while Nurzhan Nurzhigitov is staying on as minister of water resources and irrigation. The latter ministry is responsible, among other things, for transboundary water issues – one of the most sensitive regional challenges in Central Asia. Galymzhan Koishybayev also retained his position as deputy prime minister and chief of staff of the government, a dual role he has held since January 2023. The main security ministries also retained their leaders. Dauren Kosanov continues as defense minister, Yerzhan Sadenov as interior minister, and Yerlan Sarsembayev as justice minister. Changes at Foreign Affairs and Other Ministries The most prominent new appointment came a day before the rest of the cabinet was confirmed. On September 2, Mukhtar Tleuberdi returned as foreign minister. He previously headed Kazakhstan’s diplomatic service from 2019 to 2023, including during the first year following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For the past three years, Tleuberdi represented Kazakhstan as ambassdor to Austria and at international organizations in Vienna. Tleuberdi replaced Yermek Kosherbayev, who spent less than a year as foreign minister. His return comes as Kazakhstan deepens economic ties with China, negotiates with the United States and European Union on critical minerals, and seeks additional oil export routes while maintaining close relations with Russia. Arman Kyrykbayev was appointed minister of culture and information, replacing Aida Balayeva after she...

Mukhtar Tleuberdi Returns as Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appointed Mukhtar Tleuberdi as foreign minister on September 2. One of Kazakhstan’s most experienced diplomats is returning to a post he previously held from 2019 to 2023. For the past three years, Tleuberdi has represented Kazakhstan in Austria and at international organizations in Vienna. Tleuberdi replaces Yermek Kosherbayev, who had headed the Foreign Ministry since September 2025. The change comes as a new administration takes shape following the election of the Kurultai. Kosherbayev spent less than a year in the post, but his tenure coincided with an intensification of Kazakhstan’s relationship with the United States. In July, he discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio Kazakh oil exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, cooperation on critical minerals, U.S. investment, and preparations for Tokayev’s visit to the United States. Experience Returns Tleuberdi began his diplomatic career in 1993 and went on to hold ambassadorial and senior Foreign Ministry posts, including as ambassador to Malaysia and Switzerland. He returned to Astana as first deputy foreign minister in 2016 before taking over the ministry in September 2019. From January 2021 until April 2023, he also served as deputy prime minister. His first term as foreign minister coincided with one of the most challenging periods for Kazakhstan’s foreign policy. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Astana maintained close political and economic relations with Moscow while continuing to develop ties with China, the United States, and the European Union. In the context of the war in Ukraine, Kazakhstan continued to advocate respect for the principle of states’ territorial integrity. Tleuberdi represented that position in talks with the country’s major foreign partners. In 2022, his foreign travel itinerary included the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Japan, and Central Asian states. Tleuberdi left the government in April 2023 and was succeeded as foreign minister by Murat Nurtleu. Several months later, he was appointed Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Austria, while also representing Kazakhstan at international organizations based there, including the OSCE and IAEA. Tleuberdi now returns to the Foreign Ministry amid a restructuring of Kazakhstan’s political system. His appointment is among the first major personnel decisions following the start of work by the Kurultai, the country’s new unicameral parliament, which replaced the previous bicameral legislature. On August 31, Tokayev appointed Yerlan Karin as vice president, a position created by Kazakhstan’s 2026 constitutional reform. Olzhas Bektenov remained prime minister, while Aida Balayeva moved from the government to become deputy chair of the Security Council. Tleuberdi’s second term begins with a complex foreign policy agenda. Kazakhstan is simultaneously expanding economic ties with China, developing cooperation with the United States and the EU on critical minerals, seeking to diversify its oil export routes, and maintaining close relations with Russia.