Kazakhstan Appoints New Vice Minister of AI and Digital Development
Bakhtiyar Mukhametkaliyev has been appointed Vice Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan by government resolution on February 2, 2026.
Born in 1990 in the Almaty region, he holds degrees from Ryskulov Kazakh Economic University and Saken Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University. Earlier, Asset Irgaliyev was named Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Career Snapshot
- Since May 2025: General Director, Digital Government Support Center, Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development
- 2023-2025: Head of the Control and Documentation Support Department, Prime Minister's Office
- 2022-2023: Head of the Control and Documentation Support Department, Prime Minister's Office
- 2021-2022: Managing Director, Government for Citizens State Corporation
- 2010-2020: Leadership roles at Kazpost JSC, from Senior Specialist to Executive Director for IT Infrastructure and Director of the E-commerce Department
Why This Matters for IT and Development Teams
Mukhametkaliyev's track record sits at the intersection of infrastructure, e-commerce, and citizen services. That mix typically drives priorities like uptime, secure data flows, and measurable service delivery.
If you build for public platforms, watch for tighter integration standards, stronger identity/payment rails, and AI use cases inside back-office workflows (document processing, support automation, fraud/risk flags). Expect an emphasis on reliability over hype.
Signals to Watch
- Clear API policies for government services and vendor integrations
- Data governance, auditability, and security baselines for AI deployments
- Procurement frameworks that reward interoperability and measurable SLAs
- Talent programs to upskill engineers for AI-enabled public services
Practical Next Steps
- Map your product to likely government integration points: identity, payments, notifications, case management.
- Build toward auditable data pipelines and model monitoring from day one.
- Prioritize localization and accessibility-public services live or die on adoption.
For official updates and policy materials, check the Government of Kazakhstan portal: gov.kz.
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