In this issue:
Kazakh Foreign Minister Meets Sec. Powell and Members of Congress, Says Bilateral Relations Improved
Five Central Asian Countries and U.S. Sign Trade Pact
Central Asian Nations Admit Russia to Their Club, And Call for Closer Anti-Drug Cooperation
Investors Support Kazakhstan’s Economic Diversification, EBRD Chief Says
Say it in Kazakh:
Foreign Minister --- Syrtky Ister Ministri
Trade and Industry Minister --- Sauda zhane Industria Ministri
Trade pact --- Sauda Kelesim
Kazakh Foreign Minister Meets Sec. Powell and Members of Congress, Says Bilateral Relations Improved
Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister, said this week relations between Kazakhstan and the United States have significantly improved over the past several months. He attributed it to Kazakhstan’s marked progress in building democratic institutions.
Minister Tokaev said this was the message he heard in meetings in Washington this week with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, as well as high-ranking members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Tokaev said his discussions with Powell
focused on Kazakhstan’s continued
assistance in Iraq, and on problems of
regional security in Central Asia,
particularly growing drug trafficking out
of Afghanistan, as well as ongoing
democratic processes in Kazakhstan.
Recently, Kazakhstan has adopted
advanced law on elections and vetoed
a proposed media bill which would have
imposed tough restrictions on the news
media. The Minister said these were
important signs of Kazakhstan’s
continued commitment in moving
towards a more developed democracy.
Secretary Powell thanked Kazakhstan
for “the important job” done by its army
engineers in Iraq. Minister Tokaev
confirmed Astana stands by its
commitment to help stabilize Iraq and welcomes the increasing involvement of the United Nations in the process there.
In a June 4 article in the Washington Times, Minister Tokaev was quoted as saying that “it is very much in our interest that Iraq becomes a secular nation, a democratic nation. If not, Iraq will be a much more dangerous place.”
Kazakhstan, a Muslim majority country, sent 27 military engineers to Iraq on a “humanitarian mission” after the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Kazakhstan is the only Central Asian nation to contribute to the U.S.-led security mission. So far, they have destroyed more than a million explosive devices in Iraq.
Minister Tokaev acknowledged that the government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev was “paying a political price” at home for sending this small deployment to Iraq. But the Minister said Kazakhstan’s presence was an important symbol of its commitment to stability. Despite deep differences over the U.S. led war, “we strongly believe the international community must come together to help the U.S. cope with this difficult situation,” he said in the interview.
Kazakhstan’s top diplomat also raised the issue of drug trafficking out of Afghanistan as the source of growing and dangerous threat to the region in talks at the State Department. In the Washington Times article, he stressed the failure of international forces to curb Afghanistan’s soaring poppy production threatens destabilization of the entire Central Asian region and could bankroll a new generation of terrorists. The Foreign Minister detailed his country’s viewpoint on Iraq and Afghanistan crises in an op-ed which appeared in The Hill on June 1.
While in Washington, Kazakhstan’s minister met Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), chairman of the House International Relations Committee. He also met Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FLA), cochairman of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Interparliamentary Friendship Group, and members of the group, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-CA) and Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX).
Chairman Hyde said he welcomed the “growing friendship” between the two countries, and hoped that Kazakhstan will continue “setting an example” in economic and political development. He stressed the importance of conducting the upcoming parliamentary election in the fall of 2004 in a free and fair manner.
During the Minister’s visit to Washington, a regional Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was signed between Kazakhstan, four other Central Asian countries and the U.S. (see below for full story). The Minister said his visit was a “successful and productive” one.
Five Central Asian Countries and U.S. Sign Trade Pact
Five Central Asian countries and the United States signed the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) on June 1. It is designed to strengthen their bilateral and multilateral economic ties.
Ambassadors of Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
joined U.S. Trade Representative
Robert Zoellick in signing the
agreement in Washington.
of Kazakhstan said at the
ceremony: “This agreement is a
natural development of the
integration initiatives of President
Nazarbayev in Central Asia and
beyond. We hope it will provide
new impetus to economic
cooperation between the
signatories.” He stressed
“Kazakhstan’s dynamically
developing economy is
interested in further expansion
of its markets.”
Currently, more than 400 companies with American participation work in Kazakhstan. Their investments in Kazakhstan throughout the years of independence have totaled US$7 billion, a third of the overall volume of foreign direct investment. At the same time, Kazakhstan attracted more than 80 percent of U.S. investment to Central Asia.
According to a USTR news release issued the same day, Zoellick said, “the United States is pleased to be a partner in this historic agreement with the five Central Asian countries.”
He explained “the objective of the TIFA is to increase and diversify trade and investment opportunities between the United States and Central Asia. We look forward to working closely through the TIFA to further strengthen our bilateral economic relationships and our relationship with the region as a whole.”
Zoellick further noted “the TIFA will also provide a regular forum in which to address regional trade issues that hamper intra-regional trade and economic development and can act as impediments to investment. The TIFA will not only deepen our economic relationship with the Central Asian countries but will also create stronger trade ties among the five countries in the region.”
The regular forum referred to by Mr. Zoellick will be in the form of a new United States-Central Asia Council on Trade and Investment. Issues to be covered include intellectual property, labor, environmental issues, and enhancing the participation of small and medium‑sized enterprises in trade and investment.
Kyrgyz Ambassador to the United States Baktybek Abdrisaev, Tajik Ambassador to the United States Khamrokhon Zaripov, Turkmen Ambassador to the United States Meret Orazov, and Uzbek Ambassador to the United States Abdulaziz Kamilov also spoke at the ceremony. They expressed their governments’ hopes for positive results from this agreement and their desire to continue working together.
Central Asian Nations Admit Russia to Their Club, And Call for Closer Anti-Drug Cooperation
The presidents of four countries, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, announced after their May 28 summit in Astana that they had admitted Russia as a full member of their regional club, the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO). They made a strong call for closer cooperation in the fight against expanding drug trafficking coming out of Afghanistan.
President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan announced Russia was joining the group, in existence in various forms since late 1990s, at a news conference after the meeting in Astana. Igor Ivanov, Russia’s Security Council Secretary and former Foreign Minister, attended the meeting, signing documents which formally brought Russia into the organization.
At the end of the meeting, the presidents resolved to establish an international water and electricity consortium. Presidents Askar Akaev of Kyrgyzstan and Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan told the news conference that ways to step up cooperation in fighting drug trafficking were discussed at the meeting.
The leaders of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan held a separate meeting on the fringes of the summit and decided to remove trade barriers between the two countries.
Investors Support Kazakhstan’s Economic Diversification, EBRD Chief Lemierre Says
Jean Lemierre, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said foreign investors support Kazakhstan in the country’s efforts to diversify its economy away from dependence on oil and gas.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of top executives of foreign companies and institutions with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Mr. Lemierre noted “while Kazakhstan has a strong oil and gas sector, nobody knows what tomorrow brings, and this is why we, as foreign investors, support the Republic in implementing its industrial [diversification] policy.” He also added “Kazakhstan is not just about oil and gas, but primarily about its industrious and able people.”
President Nazarbayev pointed out “processing industries, electrification of the economy and further industrialization” as the country’s number one priorities for the time being.
The meeting of investors and government officials, the 11th meeting of the Foreign Investors Council, took place June 4 at a newly renovated resort, Kendyrly, on the Caspian seashore near the city of Aktau. The western part of Kazakhstan and the adjoining Caspian Sea are increasingly becoming areas of booming oil production.
The FIC group includes some of the world’s largest oil and manufacturing companies, such as ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, British Gas, Total of France, Lukoil of Russia, Mitsubishi of Japan, and Samsung of South Korea. It has met twice a year since 1998 and serves as the forum for high-level business-to-government discussions aimed at removing barriers to foreign investment in Kazakhstan and improving the country’s investment climate.
Kazakhstan has attracted more than US$25 billion in foreign direct investment since independence in 1991. The lion’s share of the investment went into oil and gas, mining and metallurgy. In 2003, the Government approved a new industrial and innovation strategy aimed at developing high-tech industries to make use of Kazakhstan’s significant human resource potential. The industries targeted include software, biotechnologies, space technologies and peaceful uses of atomic energy.
Investors at the meeting noted Kazakhstan has investment grade ratings from two rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s. As such, it is the only country in the Commonwealth of Independent States with these ratings from both leading rating agencies.
Things to Watch:
- Astana celebrates 6th anniversary as new capital of Kazakhstan on June 10. The old capital was Almaty, the commercial center.
- Presidents of Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, meet in Tashkent, the Uzbek capital, on June 15 for their regular summit and the inauguration of the group’s regional anti-terrorist center.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
