I would like to thank the organizers of the event, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Kazmunaigaz, Minister Mynbaev, Mr. Kabyldin, and our distinguished guests. I am honored to be here to join you today and to address this extremely important conference at KIOGE. This is an important conference, not only for Central Asia, but indeed for the world. I also bring warm greetings on behalf of President Barack Obama and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. For me it’s a particular pleasure to be back in Kazakhstan to see so many old friends and have the opportunity to meet new friends.
The United States and Kazakhstan enjoy a strong friendship that goes back to the birth of an independent Kazakhstan. As we look back, a patina of historical inevitability has settled over even recent history, but I can tell you that at the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, things did not look so clear. At that time I was working at the National Security Council in the White House, responsible for nuclear nonproliferation. Many people saw in the break-up of the Soviet Union the potential beginning of a new and increasingly dangerous era, as the world faced the prospect of four nuclear armed nations: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine. If that occurred, it could have triggered a wave of proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction that could have ushered in untold dangers, instability, and great risk.
Today, we all know that did not happen. Why not? There were many reasons, but when the history books are written, they will note that President Nazarbayev showed vision and statesmanship by making the firm decision to relinquish the nuclear weapons that Kazakhstan had inherited from the Soviet Union. Not only did he transfer those weapons out of Kazakhstan, but he led Kazakhstan to become to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And Kazakhstan has continued to show leadership in the areas of nonproliferation to the present day.
The events from those early days of an independent Kazakhstan speak not only to statesmanship and a desire to minimize the dangers that nuclear proliferation can bring. It also speaks to the genuine benefits of partnership. And as with many partnerships, having that strong basis has allowed us to expand our work into other important areas of shared interests – including economic, energy, and diplomatic arenas – even as the friendship between our peoples has continued to flourish.
And here too, the results have been impressive. The United States and Kazakhstan maintain a strong economic relationship, which has been further enhanced by Kazakhstan’s achievement of an investment-grade rating. In 2008, almost 11 percent of total foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan came from U.S. companies. The United States is committed to continuing to advance this friendship, which brings us to the reason for convening this conference.
This text published with abridgements.
For full version, please visit http://kazakhstan.usembassy.gov/tr-10-07-09.html
The United States and Kazakhstan enjoy a strong friendship that goes back to the birth of an independent Kazakhstan. As we look back, a patina of historical inevitability has settled over even recent history, but I can tell you that at the time of the breakup of the Soviet Union, things did not look so clear. At that time I was working at the National Security Council in the White House, responsible for nuclear nonproliferation. Many people saw in the break-up of the Soviet Union the potential beginning of a new and increasingly dangerous era, as the world faced the prospect of four nuclear armed nations: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine. If that occurred, it could have triggered a wave of proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction that could have ushered in untold dangers, instability, and great risk.
Today, we all know that did not happen. Why not? There were many reasons, but when the history books are written, they will note that President Nazarbayev showed vision and statesmanship by making the firm decision to relinquish the nuclear weapons that Kazakhstan had inherited from the Soviet Union. Not only did he transfer those weapons out of Kazakhstan, but he led Kazakhstan to become to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And Kazakhstan has continued to show leadership in the areas of nonproliferation to the present day.
The events from those early days of an independent Kazakhstan speak not only to statesmanship and a desire to minimize the dangers that nuclear proliferation can bring. It also speaks to the genuine benefits of partnership. And as with many partnerships, having that strong basis has allowed us to expand our work into other important areas of shared interests – including economic, energy, and diplomatic arenas – even as the friendship between our peoples has continued to flourish.
And here too, the results have been impressive. The United States and Kazakhstan maintain a strong economic relationship, which has been further enhanced by Kazakhstan’s achievement of an investment-grade rating. In 2008, almost 11 percent of total foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan came from U.S. companies. The United States is committed to continuing to advance this friendship, which brings us to the reason for convening this conference.
This text published with abridgements.
For full version, please visit http://kazakhstan.usembassy.gov/tr-10-07-09.html
Date:
Thursday, October 8, 2009
