The following is the text of a statement issued by the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the occasion of the annual United States-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue.
Introductory text:
On May 31, 2024, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu welcomed First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akan Rakhmetulin and the Kazakhstani delegation to Washington for the sixth annual United States-Kazakhstan Enhanced Strategic Partnership Dialogue (ESPD). This Strategic Dialogue was created to identify new opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation and serves as a platform to advance shared political, economic, security, and human rights priorities. The ESPD builds on more than 30 years of bilateral relations and underscores the United States’ unwavering support for Kazakhstan’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Participants expressed their intention to enhance regional cooperation on border security, counterterrorism, nonproliferation, and transnational threats in the coming year through the C5+1 Security Working Group. The United States and Kazakhstan discussed returning foreign Kazakhstani fighters and their family members from Syria to Kazakhstan and reintegrating those family members into society. Participants also discussed deepening multilateral cooperation to support the principles of the United Nations Charter, underscoring both countries’ commitment to promoting a more secure and prosperous region through continued dialogue.
The two sides considered the outcomes of the third annual United States-Kazakhstan High-Level Dialogue on Human Rights and Democratic Reforms held in Astana on May 20 and underscored their continued commitment to promoting respect for human rights, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief; and labor and disability rights. The two delegations also discussed support for legislative efforts to advance gender equality and strengthen protection of women and children against domestic violence. Participants reiterated their intention to work together to develop and implement torture prevention programs and explore possibilities for closer cooperation and data-sharing to prevent, identify, and eliminate human trafficking, bring perpetrators to justice, and enhance protection for victims.
The participants also discussed deepening bilateral economic cooperation and promoting the construction of resilient infrastructure along the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor to support future exports from Central Asia. The delegations also discussed emerging areas of economic partnership, including bilateral technical assistance and cooperation to develop Kazakhstan’s critical minerals sector. They expressed support for continuing to work towards sustainable normal trade relations, which will further strengthen bilateral trade ties. Both delegations look forward to building on the success of new cooperation within the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue and the Mineral Security Partnership Platform to enhance the region’s role in global critical mineral supply chains, strengthen economic cooperation, and contribute to the world’s clean energy transition.
Participants exchanged views on the revitalized United States-Kazakhstan Strategic Energy Dialogue to support a secure, clean, and resilient energy future for Central Asia. The United States and Kazakhstan expressed their mutual readiness to implement the United States-Kazakhstan Joint Statement on Accelerating Methane Mitigation to Achieve the Global Methane Pledge. These efforts include accelerating technical engagement to implement methane mitigation solutions, identifying projects and investment instruments to reduce methane emissions, and announcing near-term steps to develop national standards for methane reduction in Kazakhstan’s oil and gas sector.
Assistant Secretary Lu and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Rakhmetulin recognized that the ESPD remains a valuable format for advancing bilateral cooperation and expanding coordination across the full spectrum of United States-Kazakhstan relations. Both sides expressed keen interest in deepening the bilateral strategic partnership in the coming year, including through future strategic dialogues. The delegations concluded the meeting by reaffirming their intention to hold the next ESPD in Astana in 2025.
Lesson finished.
joint-statement-on-the-united-states-kazakhstan-enhanced-strategic-partnership-dialogue-united-states-department-of-state
