Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken visited Kazakhstan Feb. 28 to strengthen bilateral cooperation by meeting with senior Kazakh officials including President Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev and Turkmen Foreign Minister Rasit Meredov in Astana.
Kazakhstan is the 81st largest trading partner of the United States, with two-way trade of $2.5 billion in 2021, and has received tens of billions of dollars in investment from U.S. firms, mainly in the oil and gas sector, according to a State Department fact sheet issued Feb. 27. Despite progress in creating an attractive investment climate, corruption and arbitrary enforcement of laws and contracts persist.
“Thank you @TokayevKZ for your warm welcome to Astana. A growing commitment to our economic partnership and his reform agenda are essential to our deepening bilateral relationship between our countries,” Blinken said in a post on Twitter.
Kazakhstan is a member of the World Trade Organization and has a Bilateral Investment Treaty and a Treaty on the Avoidance of Dual Taxation with the U.S., the fact sheet reported. The U.S. Commercial Service supports U.S. businesses entering the Kazakhstani market through market research, counseling and a matchmaker program with Kazakh businesses.
The U.S. was the first to recognize Kazakhstan’s independence in 1991 and has maintained a strong bilateral relationship since then, focusing on security and economic development, according to the fact sheet. The two countries have had an enhanced strategic partnership since 2018.
Cooperation in security and nuclear non-proliferation is a cornerstone of the relationship, with Kazakhstan renouncing its Soviet-legacy nuclear weapons in 1993 and the U.S. assisting in removing nuclear warheads and materials, the fact sheet reported. The U.S. and Kazakhstan have worked to seal nuclear test tunnels and convert research reactors to low-enriched uranium fuel.
In 2017, the U.S. and Kazakhstan established the Nuclear Security Training Center to train nuclear security professionals, according to the fact sheet. Kazakhstan has signed several international treaties concerning the disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons.
The U.S. expended $500 million to assist Kazakhstan in eliminating weapons of mass destruction and related infrastructure, the fact sheet said. Under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, the U.S. is implementing the Global Nuclear Security and Biological Threat Reduction Program in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan’s security forces receive funds from various U.S. programs for military education and training, disaster aid and peacekeeping, according to the fact sheet. Kazakhstan's military participates in U.S.-funded military exercises.
