At the Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, the Joint Action Program for Stabilizing and Improving the Well-Being of the Population for 2026–2028 was approved, DKNews.kz reports.
The Program was developed by the Government in cooperation with the National Bank and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market and is aimed at implementing the President’s instructions to ensure sustainable economic growth, reduce inflation, decrease import dependence, and increase citizens’ incomes.
“The Head of State, in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan, instructed the Government, together with the National Bank and the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, to develop a Joint Action Program. The Joint Action Program of the Government, the National Bank, and the Financial Regulation Agency is aimed at addressing key tasks of the country’s socio-economic development for the next three years,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin reported on the main approaches of the Program, which includes a set of measures for the socio-economic development of the country in several key areas. These include supporting population incomes, ensuring quality growth, stimulating non-resource exports, digitalizing the economy and developing AI, improving investment and tariff policies, and measures to reduce inflation and the share of the state in the economy. The Program also includes sections on monetary policy, the development of the financial sector, and price regulation.
Chairman of the National Bank Timur Suleimenov presented a package of monetary, macroprudential, and institutional measures aimed at ensuring price stability and developing the financial sector.
Chair of the Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market Madina Abylkasymova reported on steps to expand business lending, reduce risks in the consumer segment, and improve regulation to support entrepreneurs.
The Prime Minister noted that the implementation of the Program through quality and sustainable economic growth and reduced inflation will become a key instrument for improving the standard of living and well-being of citizens.
“The main goals of the Program are to ensure annual economic growth of at least 5% and an average increase in real incomes of the population by 2–3%,” the Prime Minister emphasized.
A new investment cycle is planned for launch, along with a significant reduction in barriers to doing business and the state’s share in the economy, as well as the implementation of new measures to promote employment and increase the targeting of social support. Special attention will be paid to reducing inflation, implementing a balanced tariff policy, increasing exports, and decreasing import dependence.
Given that sustainable economic development is possible only through coordinated action by all responsible government bodies, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov issued a number of instructions to the relevant departments.
The Ministries of National Economy, Agriculture, and Trade were instructed to strengthen efforts to control and reduce inflation, minimize the impact of external factors on price growth, and ensure compliance with the ceiling contribution of utility tariffs.
Due to the continued moratorium on fuel price increases, the price disparity with neighboring countries is widening: in simple terms, Kazakhstani gasoline and diesel are much cheaper than in neighboring states. Therefore, the Ministries of Energy, Trade, and Finance, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Financial Monitoring Agency, and the Border Service, must ensure strict control over the fuel balance and cross-border flows of petroleum products.
To stabilize food prices, the Ministries of Agriculture, Trade, and Industry must increase the supply of domestically produced goods to the domestic market. Priority is the stabilization of food prices—particularly for goods with high import dependence—through the active use of stabilization funds, forward contracts, subsidies, and agreements with retail chains. The Ministry of Trade, together with akimats, must identify unproductive intermediaries, while central and local authorities must ensure timely implementation of inflation control measures. Particular attention must be paid to the implementation of investment projects and the production of high-value-added products in the agro-industrial complex.
The Ministries of Trade, Agriculture, and Industry, together with the relevant government agencies, were instructed to develop comprehensive measures to stimulate exporters of non-resource products and concentrate efforts on expanding export markets.
In addition, instructions were given to accelerate the implementation of priority investment projects by involving second-tier banks in lending to the real sector, increasing the role of development institutions—including the Baiterek holding and Kazakh Invest—and ensuring information support for the measures being implemented.
The Ministry of National Economy was instructed to monitor the implementation of the measures with regular review at the Economic Policy Council.
The Prime Minister emphasized that all top officials must ensure high-quality and timely implementation of the Program.
Oversight is assigned to the Deputy Prime Ministers.
