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.