On 24 April 2026, a meeting was held in Astana between Deputy Minister of Education of Turkmenistan Azat Ataev and Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek.
The meeting was held within the framework of the implementation of the agreements reached at the highest state level between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan and was aimed at developing practical cooperation in the fields of higher education and science.
During the talks, held in a constructive and substantive atmosphere, the sides discussed the current state and prospects of bilateral cooperation, and also exchanged views on approaches to the modernization of higher education systems in accordance with the long-term objectives of the socio-economic development of their countries.
The Turkmen side presented the work being carried out in the country to implement the Strategy for the Development of Higher Education of Turkmenistan for 2026–2052, approved by the esteemed President of Turkmenistan, and provided detailed information on the practical measures being undertaken for its phased implementation. In particular, the sides discussed the methodologies being applied to forecast promising areas of workforce training and to align the education system with long-term changes in the economy and labour market.
Special attention during the meeting was paid to the methodological support for such work. The sides discussed the approaches used in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to forecast workforce demand, identify new and transforming professions, and the mechanisms for using analytical data in educational policy planning.
Azat Ataev also informed the Kazakh side about the major projects being implemented in Turkmenistan aimed at linking demographic indicators, economic needs, and the parameters of the education system. The sides also discussed an analytical systems intended for planning educational programmes and specialist training with due regard to demographic dynamics, labour market structure, and economic development.
Within the framework of the meeting, issues related to the education of citizens of Turkmenistan at higher education institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan were also considered. The sides discussed the current state of cooperation in this area, as well as the importance of establishing more systematic coordination on issues of academic mobility, quality of training, and the further application of the competencies acquired by graduates.
The Kazakh side, in turn, presented its experience in modernizing the higher education system, including approaches to the management of educational processes and quality assurance in education. Issues related to harmonizing the higher education system with labour market requirements were also considered.
Particular attention was paid to Kazakhstan’s experience in centralized testing and the analytical support of educational policy. In this regard, note was taken of the work carried out by the National Testing Center of Kazakhstan in cooperation with ETS (Educational Testing Service — an international organization specializing in the development of examinations and assessment systems in education) to improve the mechanisms for evaluating the quality of education and for providing information and analytical support for managerial decision-making.
The sides also discussed issues related to the digitalization of the higher education system and the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies, and identified promising areas for cooperation in this field.
Following the meeting, the prospects for creating sustainable mechanisms of interaction for the further development of bilateral cooperation were considered. An agreement was reached to elaborate a joint working mechanism of cooperation in areas of mutual interest in the fields of higher education and science.
Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan