[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 39 (Monday, October 2, 2006)]
[Pages 1696-1698]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
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Joint Statement by the United States and Kazakhstan
September 29, 2006
We express satisfaction with the progress the United States and
Kazakhstan have made in advancing our strategic partnership, and declare
our commitment to a shared vision of stability, prosperity, and
democratic reform in Central Asia and the broader region.
We affirm our commitment to advancing that vision through an
increasingly dynamic and varied partnership that advances our global and
regional objectives. We will deepen our cooperation in fighting
international terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction. We will strengthen our cooperation to enhance regional
security and economic integration and the reconstruction of Afghanistan
and Iraq. We will expand our joint activities to ensure the development
of energy resources, while supporting economic diversification and
reform, market principles, and the development of small- and medium-size
enterprises. We recognize that peaceful democratization invests citizens
in the future of their nation. Developing democratic institutions is
therefore the crucial condition of long-term stability.
The United States and Kazakhstan reaffirm the importance of
democratic development, and are committed to accelerating Kazakhstan's
efforts to strengthen representative institutions that further invest
its citizens in the political process, such as an independent media,
local self-government, and elections deemed free and fair by
international standards. We note that our two governments are
signatories to international human rights covenants and our common
membership in organizations whose goal is to support democracy and human
rights, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe. The United States supports efforts to promote democracy,
strengthen religious freedoms, and bolster civil society in Kazakhstan.
With the full participation of all political parties and non-
governmental organizations, the United States supports the activity of
the State Commission to develop a program of democratic reforms.
Kazakhstan supports the assistance of American and other international
non-governmental organizations promoting these objectives and will take
the necessary steps to facilitate their legal functioning.
The United States commends Kazakhstan's traditions of religious
tolerance and its efforts to promote inter-ethnic harmony and
cooperation. We welcome the initiatives Kazakhstan has taken
internationally to promote mutual understanding and strengthen religious
freedoms, such as the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional
Religions, as well as initiatives to promote peace, such as the
Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia.
These initiatives bring important contributions to inter-religious and
inter-ethnic tolerance, as well as international security and conflict
resolution. We commit to deepening our cooperation to help ensure mutual
understanding and security in the world.
The United States recognizes Kazakhstan's leadership and commends
its efforts in preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction, thus enhancing global security. Kazakhstan was the first
country to voluntarily renounce its nuclear weapons after the break up
of the former Soviet Union and also closed its nuclear test site. This
example reflects our shared commitment to threat reduction and
nonproliferation remains a cornerstone of our joint effort to ensure
global and regional security. We welcome new agreements to blend down
highly enriched uranium in Kazakhstan and Kazakhstan's strong policy of
strengthening the regime of nuclear nonproliferation as concrete steps
in
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support of the recently launched Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear
Terrorism.
The United States and Kazakhstan are steadfast partners in the
international war on terrorism. The United States is grateful to
Kazakhstan for its unwavering commitment to strengthening stability in
Afghanistan and Iraq. We commit to further strengthening the excellent
cooperation already achieved by our two countries, and confirm the
determination to strengthen our close cooperation in the fight against
international terrorism and illegal trafficking in drugs, persons, and
dangerous weapons.
We commit to further cooperation between our armed forces in
counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations, both bilaterally and
through NATO's Partnership for Peace Program.
We commend our energy partnership which has helped move Kazakhstan
into the ranks of the world's leading reliable suppliers of hydrocarbon
reserves. The United States welcomes Kazakhstan's recent accession to
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which has made a valuable contribution
to this important multilateral project. Our energy partnership will
promote the participation of U.S. companies in exploring the reserves of
Kazakhstan, as well as in the development of nuclear energy. Our nations
pledge to enhance common efforts to expand global energy supplies and
will seek new means to deliver those resources to the international
market.
We share a commitment to economic diversification across a range of
industries and sectors. Recognizing Kazakhstan's macroeconomic reforms
and impressive economic successes, the United States will continue to
assist in Kazakhstan's transformation into a strong, economically
developed country. Both sides view liberalization and diversification of
the economy as a key to sustained growth. The United States supports
Kazakhstan's plan to join the world's fifty most competitive nations
consistent with the strategy outlined by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Strengthening the rule of law, taking steps to improve Kazakhstan's
investment climate, and reducing business risk will contribute to that
shared goal. We pledge our support for efforts under the Extractive
Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) to ensure that companies in
the petroleum and mining industries observe international standards of
transparency and accountability.
The United States supports Kazakhstan's membership in the World
Trade Organization, and welcomes Kazakhstan's efforts to prepare for
membership, recognizing that a market access agreement will enhance free
trade and contribute to the continuing modernization of Kazakhstan's
economy. The United States will send a team of experts to Kazakhstan in
the coming months to continue this joint work. Both sides pledge to
facilitate Kazakhstan's graduation under the Jackson-Vanik Amendment.
In order to strengthen friendship between our peoples, we intend to
expand our cultural and humanitarian cooperation, including exchanges of
students. We also intend to strengthen scientific and technical
cooperation between researchers and students at universities, research
institutes, and in the private sector.
The United States supports Kazakhstan's leadership in regional
integration efforts including its significant investment throughout
Eurasia and in Afghanistan. We declare our common commitment to
strengthen the independence, sovereignty and security of, and to develop
democratic institutions in, the countries of the region, ensuring their
sustainable development and prosperity. We pledge to support legal trade
by improving border crossings and customs procedures, the implementation
of transportation and infrastructure projects, and the use of cross-
border resources.
Confirming our commitment to this shared view to implementing the
agreements achieved today, we declare our intention to further
strengthen our strategic partnership through enhanced strategic
dialogues on energy, military cooperation, trade and investment, and
democratization. We express firm confidence that an enhanced strategic
partnership between our countries will promote security and prosperity
and foster democracy in the 21st Century.
Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
this joint statement.
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