Astana, Kazakhstan

In a visit to Kazakhstan March 12-15, IPI’s President Terje Rød-Larsen met with a number of senior officials to further develop the institute’s close relations with Kazakhstan.

IPI began working with Kazakhstan with the opening of its Vienna office in the autumn of 2010. It has supported Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including the OSCE Summit in Astana in December 2010; its Chairmanship of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC); the Istanbul Process; and the Conference on Inter-Action and Confidence-building Measures in Asia (CICA). It has also provided advice on disaster risk reduction, regional security and cooperation, the creation of a national development agency (KazAid), as well as enhancing Kazakhstan’s role within the United Nations.

“In a short period of time, IPI and Kazakhstan have developed a close and productive partnership,” said Mr. Rød-Larsen, adding, “I see even further scope for cooperation in this land of great opportunities.” Some possible new areas of cooperation include energy and security, the food-water-energy nexus, advice on macro-economic policy, as well as training.

During his stay in the capital, Astana, Mr. Rød-Larsen met with the Chairman of the Senate of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev; the Head of the Executive Office of the President, Karim Massimov; the Assistant to the President of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Kazykhan; the Governor of the National Bank, Kairat Kelimbetov; Senator Byrganym Aitimova; and the CEO of Baiterek National Holding, Kuandyk Bishimbayev.

The IPI delegation also visited Nazarbayev University where discussions were held on possible cooperation between the university and IPI, particularly in relation to Eurasian security issues and training on multilateralism.

In light of the crisis in Ukraine, Mr. Rød-Larsen spoke with his Kazakh interlocutors about the future of the Eurasian Union, security and cooperation in the OSCE area, and the issue of security guarantees.