Kazakhstan and Ukraine have the longest borders with Russia of all former Soviet republics, roughly 4,700 and 1,227 miles, respectively. Only China, 2,600 miles, and Mongolia, 2,200 miles, are close among other countries. Kazakhstan and Ukraine have the largest ethnic Russian populations – far and away – of any country other than Russia itself (several million in both instances)….Kazakhstan was recruited to NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1995 and in 2006 became the first non-European (including the Caucasus) nation to be granted a NATO Individual Partnership Action Plan.

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Kazakhstan Today
February 28, 2023

President Tokayev receives U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has received today U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken who arrived in Astana for an official visit….

Welcoming the American diplomat, the Head of State said that since the moment of establishment of diplomatic relations, Kazakhstan and the U.S. had built exemplary interaction both in bilateral and multilateral formats. Addressing the guest, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the importance of giving additional impulse to building the strategic cooperation between Washington and Astana.

He commended the reliable long-term partnership relations in such strategically important areas as security, energy, trade and investments. The Kazakh leader expressed readiness for further development of the cooperation, expressing gratitude to the U.S. side for constant and firm support of Kazakhstan’s independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Speaking on economic cooperation, the President said that the U.S. is one of the largest investors of Kazakhstan with the total amount of investments at 62 billion US dollars. The President of Kazakhstan also welcomed the efforts of the U.S. in advancing the C5+1 cooperation and emphasized the importance of holding the meeting of the foreign ministers of Central Asia and the U.S. in Astana. For his part, the U.S. Secretary of State thanked Kassym-Jomart Tokayev…on behalf of the U.S. President. Antony Blinken noted the importance of boosting the achievements reached in more than 30 years of bilateral relations, deepening and strengthening the Kazakhstan-U.S. partnership at the bilateral level.

The U.S. Secretary of State said Kazakhstan and the U.S. are linked by strong relations and they will keep strengthening….”[W]e are thankful to you and your team for gathering the Central Asian leaders here in Astana….[We] will participate in a more specific work on unification of the region, by creating stronger ties and closer interaction….We intend to interact at the highest level. I am glad to be here and contribute to the strengthening of our cooperation,” he added. Besides, the U.S. Secretary of State highly praised the political and economic reforms taking place in Kazakhstan. Upon completion of the meeting, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev extended his best wishes to the U.S. President Joe Biden….