Outstanding women shaping Central Asia

A Police Colonel with over 36 years of professional experience, Ms Shermatova is deservedly considered a leader in the field of planning and analysing the work of law enforcement agencies, and of operational and investigative work.

Minarkhan began her career in 1995 as an assistant to the head of the Department of Internal Affairs in Bishkek’s Lenin District. After six years, she switched to becoming an investigator in the Investigation Unit of the Department of Internal Affairs in Bishkek’s Lenin District, going on to become a senior investigator. In 2008, having decided she wanted to move up the career ladder, she applied to be transferred to the Response Service and was taken on as a criminal investigator by the 9th Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, where she went on to become a senior criminal investigator.

In March 2010, Ms Shermatova, as an experienced employee, was invited to join the General Staff of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she worked until September 2018 as a chief inspector, head of department, and, prior to her retirement, Head of Analysis, Planning and Control.

Ms Shermatova continues to work as a chief specialist there, helping its young employees, and often goes on duty trips. She is the secretary of the General Staff Veterans’ Council and takes part in all the ministry’s events.

Minarkhan has been on various work-related trips to CIS countries. For example, in May 2015, she attended a seminar in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on gender equality, and in March 2018, on the fringes of the 7th Conference on Increasing the Role of Women in the Police, in Tbilisi, she gave a presentation on measures being taken to increase the prestige of a career in the police among women.

Ms Shermatova has risen from a police sergeant to Head of Analysis, Planning and Control at the General Staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic with the rank of Police Colonel.

Despite all the challenges she has faced, Minarkhan has given her all to her work. As a woman leader, she has helped her male colleagues in difficult situations. As she herself emphasises, fortitude and professionalism do not depend on gender; after all, women leaders sometimes cope better in difficult situations and find the right ways to solve problems. Following the events of June 1990, in April 1991 Ms Shermatova joined the Special Purposes Mobile Unit of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she was the only woman among 120 men. She was also the only female detective after joining the 9th Department of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2008.

Minarkhan is proud to have been born in the native village of the famous Kurmanjan Datka (Zhapalak, near Osh), the first woman in Central Asia to be awarded a military rank as a stateswoman and military figure, and to have studied at a boarding school named after Valentina Tereshkova (the first woman in space). When she started working, her oath of loyalty was accepted by the legendary Police Major General Ergesh Aliev and her mentors were Police Major General Murzali Abdrakhmanov and Bazarbai Nurmatov. In Bishkek’s Lenin District Department of Internal Affairs she worked on the same team as Police Colonel Kubatbek Ishenaliev, who became the first head of the Batken Region Directorate of Internal Affairs in 1999, when the region was created. From these outstanding individuals, she gained life lessons and strength of mind. But Ms Shermatova is especially grateful to her parents, who managed to bring up and educate her together with two brothers and seven sisters in a large and happy family.

A Customs Service lieutenant colonel with 20 years of experience, Ms Pirmukhamedova specialises in law, promoting gender equality and working to protect women’s rights and opportunities. She is currently a Chief Inspector of the Targeting and Risk Monitoring Department of the Customs Committee under the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Ms Pirmukhamedova believes that being a leader is simply a necessity when your team puts its trust in you and you are given responsibility. She believes that a leader is someone who can correctly identify primary objectives, organise activities, work in a team, demonstrate the team’s work, appreciate the importance of each role in teamwork, meet set goals, correctly present achievements and make decisions with a sense of responsibility for the work done, within the framework of the law. For her part, Ms Pirmukhamedova aims to embody these qualities and earn her team’s respect. She regards becoming certified as a risk management system expert in accordance with EU standards as one of her best achievements.

Ms Pirmukhamedova also has an academic side — she has written a treatise on ‘Aspects of enhancing legal support for a risk management system in the work of customs authorities’, has written more than 13 research papers, seven of which have been published in international journals, and is currently doing research for a PhD on ‘Enhancing legal support for a risk management system in the work of customs authorities’.

In addition to her main job and research work, Ms Pirmukhamedova is active in public life. She is a certified trainer on gender issues, the Chair of the Advisory Council on issues concerning women in Uzbekistan’s customs authorities, a member of the Council on protecting the legal rights and opportunities of women and men at the Customs Committee Headquarters, and a member of the Trade Union Committee of the Customs Committee Headquarters.

Ms Pirmukhamedova is proud of her contribution to the State Customs Committee’s win in the ‘Best Law Enforcement Agency for the Protection of Women’s Rights’ category in the national Gender Equality Activist contest in 2001, in which it beat more than 60 ministries and agencies in Uzbekistan, as well as its second place in the ‘Best Start-up Organisation’ category out of the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan’s 20,000 start-ups. In addition, Ms Pirmukhamedova made a huge contribution to the victory by a team of young women from the Customs Committee in gymnastics competitions for Uzbek ministries and departments in 2022 and 2023.

Apart from her professional and public activities, Ms Pirmukhamedova has, with her beloved husband, brought up three daughters, who have earned degrees and got married, and has three grandchildren.

Ms Gladkova is a dog training expert with over 12 years of professional experience, and specialises in training sniffer dogs to detect drugs of all classes.

Nataliia notes that to be a dog training instructor it is important to have an extensive store of knowledge and to be able to apply it correctly in practice when training dogs, as each animal needs its own approach. The dogs trained by her work for the Kyrgyz customs authorities and have achieved excellent drug detection results throughout the country, as well as multiple successes in interagency and international competitions. In 2022, Ms Gladkova was nominated from the Specialized-Training Customs of the State Customs Service under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic to attend a three-month course organised by the BOMCA 10 programme for dog experts on training drug detection dogs.

In Natalia’s opinion, it is her extensive theoretical knowledge of dog training and many years of practice that have helped her to achieve success in her profession.

As Ms Gladkova points out, despite the rapid progress in technology, working dogs and their use in the work of border, customs and law enforcement agencies have not lost their relevance in the twenty-first century. The use of specially trained service dogs combined with advanced technology makes it possible to effectively enhance the possibilities of both, allowing the relevant agencies to identify and investigate cross-border crimes linked to the illegal importation of explosives, ammunition, weapons and drugs more effectively.

Ms Kassymkulova started her career at the Educational and Methodological Center of the State Revenue Committee in 2012, and her career path has taken her from specialist to Deputy Head.

In the course of her work, Lazzat has been awarded over 200 certificates in the field of modernising government administration, as well as customs, border, tax, information and other areas of legislation. Throughout her career, Lazzat has developed her knowledge and skills and improved the system of government administration of customs procedures. For example, in 2012 she organised the first online training for Kazakhstan’s customs employees together with Riga Technical University, Lithuania’s Customs Training Centre and the Russian Customs Academy. In November 2012, Ms Kassymkulova addressed an international meeting in Riga, Latvia, where software on organising work on Moodle and distance learning was presented. Following this, the software was incorporated into the training and certification system for the employees of many government bodies.

Internationally qualified as a POLYCOM videoconferencing installation instructor, in 2013, on her own initiative and with support from the US Embassy’s Export Control and Border Security programme, Ms Kassymkulova helped to install POLYCOM videoconferencing equipment for distance learning, as well as Prem, Trefox and Simfox (software made by Renful, a British company) at the Educational and Methodological Center, in every Department and at every border post in Kazakhstan, which was a first for Central Asia. After receiving specialist training at Renful, Lazzat also became a trainer for work with X-ray inspection systems, image analysis and detecting prohibited items. In 2017, she gave a presentation on Simfox software to employees of Uzbekistan’s customs authorities in Tashkent.

In 2018, Ms Kassymkulova organised training for employees of the Khorgos International Center for Border Cooperation on detecting contraband furs and wrote a thesis on ‘The use of inspection and detection systems as a method of preventing fraud and the movement of contraband goods via crossing points’. In 2019, she successfully defended her thesis and qualified as a Master of Laws. That same year, in Hungary, Lazzat added another string to her bow, qualifying as a trainer for Central Asian trainers.

Ms Kassymkulova is a joint author of study guides and books used by students at the country’s higher education institutions and by employees of state revenue authorities in their work. She has also received many awards, including a certificate of appreciation from the Kazakh Ministry of Finance, ‘For a Significant Contribution to the Development of the State Revenue Authorities, Impeccable Public Service and to Mark 25 years of Independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan’ (in 2015), the ‘Outstanding Employee of the State Revenue Authorities’ badge (in 2021), the ‘Outstanding Employee of the Border Service’ badge (in 2022), a medal declaring her ‘Best Specialist of the Year of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the Public Sector’ (in 2022) and others.

Ms Japarkulova has over 30 years of professional experience, including 13 in plant quarantine. Initially trained as a teacher of biology and chemistry, she began her career in pre-school and higher education. Later she continued her education by doing a master’s degree in ecology and law, having moved to the State Plant Quarantine Service.

Having held external and internal positions in various areas of phytosanitary security, gaining the necessary knowledge, skills and diverse experience, Ms Japarkulova is currently a chief specialist in the Department of Chemicalisation, Plant Protection and Quarantine under the Kyrgyz Ministry of Agriculture. Where necessary, she advises importers and exporters of agricultural products.

Having worked in phytosanitary security and administration for more than 13 years, and with knowledge and skills in the field, Ms Japarkulova is deservedly considered an expert in it. As Gulmira herself notes, it is knowledge, experience and authority, along with important personal skills such as efficiency, responsibility, diligence, the ability to adapt in a team, an aptitude for learning and being able to cope with stress, have helped her to achieve her desires. 

Of her 16 years in employment, Ms Islyamova has spent nine supporting the work of government bodies, specialising in border security with a focus on combating terrorism and passport fraud, radiation control compliance, gender issues in border management and other aspects.

Previously, Zhanna was Head of HR at a government body and worked to introduce performance and competency assessment for the public sector employees; she is now Acting Head of the Department of Advanced Studies and Professional Training at the Educational and Methodological Center of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Ms Islyamova is constantly improving her competencies and adding to her expertise in border security. For example, in 2022, having successfully made it through a competitive selection process, she studied at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe. At the end of the programme, Ms Islyamova defended a research paper on ‘The advantages of a gender-balanced approach to supporting border security’.

In March 2022, Ms Islyamova gave a presentation on ‘Implementation of a training system based on developing employee competencies’, as part of a Regional consortium workshop for the Heads of Customs and Border Guarding services’ training institutions from Central Asian countries, in Tashkent. Following the workshop, she was sent to Latvia for work experience training at the State Revenue Service and Riga Technical University, where she also had the honour of giving a presentation on Kazakhstan’s experience with a system for assessing the competencies of public sector employees,

In 2023, Ms Islyamova attended the BOMCA 10 Programme’s Regional workshop on introducing a Customs Competency Framework, putting forward suggestions and taking part in the development of guidelines for creating a description of the roles of a customs competency profile. She also helped to develop recommendations on introducing a training system based on developing the necessary competencies.

With her wealth of experience and expert knowledge, Ms Islyamova runs professional development seminars and courses on various aspects of border security and customs control. In addition, Zhanna is the main employee involved in organising support work for customs employee training at the Training Center. As recommended by employees taught at her seminars, she has also started providing training on anti-terrorist security and counterterrorism for employees of establishments vulnerable to terrorism in Astana (shopping centres, cinemas, etc.).

At present, Ms Islyamova is actively working together with Uzbekistan’s Customs Institute with the aim of fostering cooperation between customs services and providing mutual assistance in the training of customs administration employees. She has also developed a plan of cooperation to increase the potential of trainers and teacher exchanges to support international qualification, covering the period to 2024.

Her outstanding professionalism has earned Ms Islyamova multiple certificates of appreciation and letters of gratitude from the Ministry of Finance. In 2023, she was recognised as the best public sector employee at a government body.

Ms Djeenalieva has worked in the field of professional development for employees of customs authorities and government agencies of the Kyrgyz Republic for more than eight years. She discovered her love of teaching while still at university, along with a desire to share her knowledge and experience with young people.

At the Specialized-Training Customs, she is an expert on radiation control and radiation safety at state border crossing points, as well as on profiling as a combination of methods, techniques and procedures for identifying customs violations, based on analysis of passenger behaviour. Among her personal professional achievements, Asel highlights being awarded certificates from the World Customs Organization and high-level international experts, as well as the publication of her research in specialist journals in Kyrgyzstan and nearby countries.

Ms Djeenalieva is particularly proud of her unit’s achievements and results. In her time there, the Specialized-Training Customs has become a World Customs Organization Regional Training Centre, and has held numerous regional events with international experts. In her work, Asel pays particular attention to detailed event planning and attracting international programmes, experts and donors, which is an important part of her job.

Ms Djeenalieva is proud not only of her professional achievements, but also of being able to work somewhere she has always wanted to and dreamt of, introducing something new, studying new approaches and programmes, and improving staff training. She is especially proud of the fact that she has not stood still in her professional development, but is constantly improving her level of expertise, working in a team where she is valued and respected.

Ms Miralbekova has been working in education for over 23 years. A graduate of Tashkent State Pedagogical University specialising in teaching Russian, she has risen from a secondary school teacher to Head of the Department of Languages at the Military Border Institute of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan. Ms Miralbekova has produced A Collection of Texts for Reading and Discussion for the institute’s students and continues to write articles on foreign language teaching methods. She was recently promoted to a colonel in recognition of her services.

Now drawing a pension, having attained the rank of Customs Service Lieutenant Colonel, Ms Khudaibergenova continues to work as a Chief Specialist of the Department on Investment and Innovation of the Committee for Veterinary and Livestock Development under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In total, she has 47 years of professional experience.

Ms Khudaibergenova justifiably considers herself a competent expert on international cooperation. After all, competence, as Sanam herself points out, means the ability to meet professional challenges by drawing on one’s practical experience, abilities and knowledge. And Ms Khudaibergenova has extensive international experience. She has studied at the Royal Malaysian Customs Academy (AKMAL) and taken courses on human resource management in Japan. What she learned has been very useful to her in her work for the customs authorities and the Veterinary Service. Having joined the State Veterinary Committee right after its formation in 2017, Ms Khudaibergenova played an active role in organising a visit by the Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Dr Monique Eloit, to Uzbekistan, and her meeting with the country’s prime minister. Sanam has also participated in a number of General Sessions of the WOAH, where the head of Uzbekistan’s Veterinary Service gave a speech and issues relating to the eradication of infectious animal diseases and to food safety were raised. Ms Khudaibergenova was also involved in a successful regional workshop on dog population management for Western Eurasian countries. And the impeccably organised Uzbekistan Day, a cultural event in central Paris, with the participation of more than 1,000 people, allowed the country to show the world its potential and possibilities. Ms Khudaibergenova highlights in particular the significance of the successful international negotiations thanks to which Uzbekistan’s Veterinary Service became a member of the Regional Core Group of the WOAH’s Regional Commission for Europe. Sanam is also a member of the National Working Group on developing a national ‘One Health’ and antimicrobial resistance programme, as well as an internationally certified veterinary service audit specialist.

Ms Urazova graduated from Tashkent State Pedagogical University with a bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy. Following this, she continued her education at the Institute for Studying Youth Problem and Training Prospective Personnel, part of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan. With over 17 years of professional experience, she currently heads the Department for Supporting Gender Equality, Increasing Women’s Socio-Political Activity and Developing International Relations, part of the Committee on Family and Women Affairs under the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction of the Republic of Uzbekistan. She is an active participant in many national and international seminars and workshops on issues affecting families and women, and on supporting gender equality. As Ugiloi herself says, she does not want to rest on her laurels; after all, she believes that a person is not born a leader — they become one. But this requires learning, gaining experience and working hard.

In Ugiloi’s opinion, extensive opportunities have been created in Uzbekistan today for providing women with every kind of support and increasing their economic, social and political activity. By effectively taking advantage of them, she is trying to be a true leader in her field. The key to success, she believes, is responsibility, accountability, engagement and discipline. In addition, she also believes that support plays an important role in any leader’s life. She is immeasurably grateful to her parents, relatives and teachers, who have supported her in every situation, and have helped her to discover more opportunities and to find her place in life.

Having devoted over 45 years of her professional life to veterinary, Ms Iskembaeva is a proven specialist in the development and confirmation of laws and regulations in the area of veterinary, checklists and inspections covering the production of products of animal origin, as well as an expert on food safety, HACCP at food businesses, running seminars and workshops, and providing advice on the Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Customs Union, national legislation and the international requirements of the Codex Alimentarius.

Many years of Gulmairam’s experience in veterinary encompasses veterinary laboratory work, including in a laboratory for avian diseases at the Veterinary Research Institute. After qualifying as a Candidate of Veterinary Sciences, she became an expert trainer on highly dangerous animal diseases, the Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Customs Union, inspections of business entities, the introduction of the information system for inspections of business entities ‘proverka.gov.kg’, and training of territorial inspectors on inspecting the entities overseen by the Veterinary Service. Ms Iskembaeva is proud of her many years of experience of working with international organisations and projects in Kyrgyzstan. In particular, she has served as an expert for a JICA project developing a master plan for quality and safety control for milk and dairy products, as a trainer on the implementation of HACCP in food production, and as a consultant on the development of checklists and the Guidelines for inspecting food businesses. She has taken part in a BOMCA project to set up an interagency working group on HACCP/the Codex Alimentarius and incorporate it into national legislation, and to develop Standard Operating Procedures for products of animal origin for border inspectors, as well as in a GIZ project to develop laws and regulations to simplify border procedures. She has also played an active role in a FAO/WHO/WOAH project to develop a Strategic Plan for antimicrobial resistance, as well as in interagency meetings on veterinary issues, and on drafting and introducing amendments to laws and regulations.

As an expert, Ms Iskembaeva has been invited abroad multiple times, on trips relating to dairy (in New Zealand) and meat (in India) plant inspections, highly dangerous animal diseases (in Italy, Lithuania, Serbia, Ukraine and Georgia), food safety, border veterinary and sanitary requirements and laboratory tests (in Japan and Kazakhstan) and on HACCP and the Codex Alimentarius (in Kazakhstan).

Ms Iskembaeva has been awarded a certificate of gratitude from the then prime minister of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, a watch engraved with her name from the Kyrgyz government, certificates of appreciation and ‘Outstanding Employee of the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Security Inspectorate under the Kyrgyz government and of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Improvement’ badges.

A Customs Service Lieutenant Colonel with 34 years of experience, Ms Kydyrgychova is a proven expert on customs issues, specialising in customs procedures, customs and export control, customs control technology and fighting cross-border crime.

Among other employees, Zamira was there when the Kyrgyz Customs Service was established, and has been directly involved in the development of laws and regulations and key documents in this field, working to increase Kyrgyzstan’s national budget and advance its economic interests.

In 1995, following a discovery made by her during a customs check, a controlled delivery to Russia of drugs (over 350 g of pure opium) was carried out, after which all those involved in the crime were arrested.

Ms Kydyrgychova has been recognised as an outstanding employee in the State Customs Service, holds the Class 1 and 2 medals for Excellence in the Customs Service and is a Customs Service Lieutenant Colonel. As a specialist in her field with extensive practical experience, she is invited annually to lecture at higher education institutions in Kyrgyzstan as an expert practitioner.

Zamira believes that her ability to take on responsibility, her motivation, her operational mindset and her desire to share her knowledge with others have helped her to become a customs professional.

With 28 years of experience, Ms Muminzoda is a professor in the Department of Political Education at the Military Border Institute of the State Committee for National Security of the Republic of Tajikistan, specialising in history, a field in which she was awarded a Candidate’s degree in 2001. She is currently working on a doctoral dissertation, which would be a major professional achievement for her. Ms Muminzoda believes that hard work and willpower have helped her to achieve all she has.

After graduating with a law degree in 2016, Ms Abdullaeva began her career in Karakalpakstan’s Prosecution Service. Since then, she has held various positions, including managerial ones. In 2022, following the establishment of an area of the Prosecution Service overseeing the enforcement of legislation relating to support for women’s rights and the protection of women against harassment and violence under a presidential decree, Ms Abdullaeva was appointed prosecutor for the department responsible for this area, under an order from the General Prosecutor’s Office. Ms Abdullaeva regards this appointment as a great achievement, having been chosen out of around 400 Prosecution Service employees. Four employees at the General Prosecutor’s Office, plus another 14 in the regions, are responsible for overseeing the enforcement of legislation relating to support for women’s rights, Bibimaryam’s department oversees authorised prosecutors working on support for women’s rights, and coordinates their work. Ms Abdullaeva is very proud of having been given the opportunity to use the knowledge and experience she acquired in her seven years of Prosecution Service work in her new position. In December 2022, she was awarded the ‘30 years of Uzbekistan’s Prosecution Service’ badge in recognition for her work.

Ms Abdullaeva highlights the positive accomplishments of women’s capabilities, specifically the opportunity to serve among men in the law enforcement authorities, which is in itself considered a great achievement, bearing in mind the mentality in eastern countries.

Bibimaryam believes that her achievements in her career have certainly been helped, primarily, by the support from her family, especially her mother, for which she is very grateful. In addition, since a woman has to deal with both family and work responsibilities at the same time, she is grateful for the huge support she gets from her partner (who also works for the Prosecution Service), both at work and at home. As such, she believes that in eastern countries a woman’s family plays a huge role in helping her become a master of her profession and achieve great results in her career.

Ms Kazakpaeva began her career as a Revenue Service inspector in Almaty in 1999. In her 24 years in public service, she has headed seven units differing in personnel but similar in spirit; everyone was united by a professional commitment to making their country better and safer. Today, Ms Kazakpaeva is successfully running the Educational and Methodological Center of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This centre provides specialist training for Customs Service employees and developing the competencies of state revenue authority employees on the three dimensions of comprehensive security. Ms Kazakpaeva is proud that the centre’s educational programmes on combating threats and using of abilities, skills and competencies effectively at borders are creating an environment supporting political and socio-economic growth. The leadership’s active cooperation and the participation of the centre’s employees in international donor programmes, such as those of BOMCA, the OSCE, USAID, GIZ and others, is helping to address the shortage of resources for passing on knowledge and best practices through cascade training at borders.

In the last two years, Ms Kazakpaeva has undergone ISO 21500-2014 project management certification, become an ICU Professional Coach, and been certified as a Trainer of Trainers for Profiling at international crossing points. All these achievements reflect her ambition to be an inspiring and motivating example of life-long learning. Bakhytgul also currently heads the ‘Motivation of public sector employees’ project within the context of the development of Kazakhstan’s National Project Management System. And to continue the influence of women on government reforms, she is also studying for an executive master’s degree in public administration at the National School of Public Policy, part of Kazakhstan’s Presidential Academy of Public Administration.

In 2022, as head of the participatory project ‘An integrated approach in supporting border security’ and its subsequent research, Ms Kazakpaeva attended the OSCE’s 32nd Staff Course for Women Leaders at its Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. There, she met OSCE Secretary General Ms Helga Maria Schmid, who is an inspiration to many women leaders. The knowledge and experience she gained helped her to develop a training simulator for Educational and Methodological Center staff, while the research she did on the course has informed her recommendations on managing the mixed migration flows that have been seen recently and fall under the political-military dimension of governments in many countries. Bakhytgul’s leadership qualities were also recognised on the course, where she was elected a Leader, which, she says, came with a lot of responsibility and was very exciting, and she continues to work and remain friends with colleagues and experts from the college to this day. At the end of the course, Bakhytgul was presented with a letter of gratitude for her outstanding achievements and flawless expertise.

As a mother of five children and a woman leader, Ms Kazakpaeva has achieved all these results thanks to time management, coaching and facilitation skills, NLP skills, healthy living, and so on. She says that it is important to start each day by overcoming your laziness and weaknesses. But the most important thing is the full support for all her initiatives that she gets from her family and close friends. In conclusion, Bakhytgul reminds us that steps taken in time change the course of your whole life!

Ms Zhusubakunova has over 16 years of professional experience of public service in the area of plant quarantine. Having held external and internal positions in various areas of phytosanitary security, gaining the necessary knowledge, skills and experience, she is currently a leading specialist in the Department of Chemicalisation, Plant Protection and Quarantine under the Ministry of Agriculture of the Kyrgyz Republic. Where necessary, she advises importers and exporters of agricultural products.

With over 16 years of professional experience in phytosanitary security, and having gained extensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the field, Ms Zhusubakunova justifiably considers herself an expert it. She emphasises that it is knowledge, experience and authority, together with important personal skills such as efficiency, responsibility, diligence, the ability to adapt in a team and being able to cope with stress, that have helped her to achieve the desired results in her profession.