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Skriven 2006-09-29 23:31:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0609291) for Fri, 2006 Sep 29
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Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Republic of
Kazakhstan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 29, 2006

Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Republic of
Kazakhstan



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 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.

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