Zhanel Kushukova was appointed Deputy Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan in July 2019.
Before that, she worked in the Ministry of Industry and Trade; the Ministry of Economy and Trade; and the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. She was a member of the Kazakhstan negotiating group for accession to the WTO, and participated in the development of the legal and contractual framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
Previous positions include:
- Leading expert on domestic market protection at the Anti-Dumping Control Committee of the Ministry of Economy and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2001-2002)
- Leading Specialist, Customs and Tariff Policy Division, Department of Trade, International Cooperation and Export Control, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2002-2004)
- Head of the Customs and Tariff Regulation Division, Deputy Head of the Administration, Head of the Administration of the Department for WTO Accession (2004-2008)
- Director of the Foreign Trade Policy Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2008-2010)
- Director of the Foreign Trade Policy Development Department, Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2010-2019)
Ms. Kushukova graduated from the Kozybayev North Kazakhstan State University with a degree in economics.