Kazakhstan and the United States Aim to Boost Ties

On April 18-22, the Kazakh delegation headed by First Deputy Chief of Staff of the President the of Kazakhstan Timur Suleimenov paid visit to Washington, D.C., which allowed to outline the prospects for further bilateral cooperation with the United States.

The meetings with officials from the White House, the U.S. Congress, Department of State, Departments of Commerce, Treasury, the US Chamber of Commerce, as well as participation in the annual World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Sessions facilitated to substantively discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

During the meetings, the counterparts were presented with the main guidelines of the State of the Nation Address by President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and large-scale transformations put forward to building “New Kazakhstan”. The American partners voiced strong support for the reforms initiated by President Tokayev, underlining that their implementation will contribute to the political modernization of Kazakhstan.

Given the current global situation, the parties discussed the US sanctions restrictions and potential risks for the Kazakh economy. The U.S. side expressed understanding and confirmed commitment to provide full support in this matter, including continuing a regular dialogue with Kazakhstan in order to avoid unintended consequences of the American sanctions policy.

As part of the 2022 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, a series of negotiations were held with the organizations’ top managers and rating agencies, including Moody's, Standard & Poor's, and Fitch Ratings. They discussed the issues of economic diversification, human capital development, women economic empowerment, as well as climate change. In addition, Kazakhstan confirmed its adherence to the policy of inflation targeting.

There was also a thorough exchange of views on a wide range of issues on the international and regional agenda with members of a number of influential US think tanks, such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings, RAND Corporation, and New Lines Institute.

The Kazakh delegation also took part in a round table at the US Chamber of Commerce, where a clear message was communicated regarding the Government's intention to improve the investment climate by adopting a package of anti-crisis measures to ensure the country's economic stability against the backdrop of current crises.