The text of the following statement was released 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.
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On May 31, 2024, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu welcomed First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Akan Rakhmetullin and a Kazakh 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 for advancing shared political, economic, security, and human rights priorities. The ESPD builds upon over 30 years of bilateral relations and underscores the United States' unwavering support for Kazakhstan's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
Participants expressed their intentions to continue to enhance regional cooperation on border security, counterterrorism, non-proliferation, and transnational threats in the year ahead, including through the C5+1 Security Working Group. The United States and Kazakhstan discussed the repatriations of Kazakh foreign fighters and their family members from Syria to Kazakhstan and the reintegration of those family members into society. Participants also discussed deepening multilateral cooperation to support the principles of the UN charter, underscoring both countries' dedication to fostering a more secure and prosperous region through sustained dialogue.
The two sides reflected on the outcomes of the third annual United States-Kazakhstan High-Level Dialogue on Human Rights and Democratic Reforms, held on May 20 in Astana, and underscored their ongoing commitment to advancing respect for human rights, including freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief; and labor and disability rights. Both delegations also discussed support for legislative efforts to increase gender equality and strengthen protections for women and children against domestic violence. Participants reiterated their intent to work together to develop and implement torture prevention programs and explore prospects for closer collaboration and data-sharing to prevent, identify, and eliminate trafficking in persons, bring perpetrators to justice, and increase protections for victims.
Participants also discussed deepening bilateral economic cooperation and promoting construction of resilient infrastructure along the Trans-Caspian Transportation Corridor to support future exports from Central Asia. Delegations also discussed emerging areas for economic partnership, including bilateral technical assistance and cooperation to develop Kazakhstan's critical minerals sector. They expressed support for continuing to work toward permanent normal trade relations, which will further strengthen the bilateral trade relationship. Both delegations look forward to building upon the success of new cooperation within the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue and the Minerals Security Partnership Forum to increase the region's role in global critical minerals supply chains, strengthen economic cooperation, and contribute to the world's clean energy transition. The parties underlined the importance of infrastructure development for sustainable trade routes through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.
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 tools 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 Rakhmetullin acknowledged the ESPD remains a valuable format to advance bilateral cooperation and expand coordination across the full spectrum of United States-Kazakhstan relations. Both sides expressed a strong interest in deepening the bilateral strategic partnership in the year ahead, including through future strategic dialogues. Delegations closed the meeting by reaffirming their intention to convene the next ESPD in Astana in 2025.
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