Islamabad, October 13,2026: Yerkin Valitkhanuly Tukumov has been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Born on July 2, 1973, Tukumov is an experienced diplomat and political scientist with an extensive background in strategic research, foreign policy and international relations.
He graduated from the Institute of International Relations at the University of Warsaw in Poland in 1997 and completed his studies at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in the United States in 2016. He holds a PhD in Political Science.
Tukumov began his professional career in 1997 as a senior researcher at the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan. From 2000 to 2005, he served as chief researcher and head of its Department of Foreign Policy and International Relations.
He subsequently held several important positions in Kazakhstan’s presidential administration and diplomatic service, including head of a sector at the Information and Analytical Centre of the Presidential Administration and director of the Central Asia Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From 2010 to 2018, he headed the Analytical Department of Kazakhstan’s Security Council. He later served as Consul General of Kazakhstan in Kazan, Russia, from 2018 to 2019, followed by his appointment as Minister-Counsellor at the Kazakh Embassy in Russia from 2019 to 2022.
From 2022 to 2025, Tukumov served as director of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Kazakhstan.
In June 2025, he was appointed Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan for Afghanistan.
He holds the diplomatic rank of Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Second Class, and is proficient in Polish and English.
His appointment comes with extensive experience in regional affairs, strategic analysis and diplomacy, which will be relevant to strengthening Kazakhstan-Pakistan relations and advancing cooperation between the two countries.
