Transcripts
Press Conference with Ambassador Ordway
Kazakhstani Press Club
Almaty, Kazakhstan
November 27, 2006
Ambassador: Let me begin by making a couple of remarks about the functioning of the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan.
As you probably know, we opened our new embassy in Astana quite recently. We are now offering consular services, including visas for Kazakhstani citizens in both Astana and in Almaty. There is one phone number that people call for appointments in either Astana or Almaty, and we will be happy to make appointments in either city, although at this point the waiting time is much less in Astana than it is in Almaty.
We will also continue to have a significant American presence here in Almaty. The regional office for USAID continues in Almaty, along with our consular officer for Kazakhstan. The United States Commercial Service which facilitates trade and investment continues to be located here in Almaty. We also have representatives of our press and information section that are here to work with the press, cultural institutions, and educational institutions in Almaty.
That’s all I have, and I’m happy to answer your questions.
Q: Some Kazakhstanis think that the United States indulges human rights violations and non-observance of international law standards. Do you agree with this opinion?
Ambassador: Whoever those people are that have that opinion, I don’t think they’ve been listening to what we’ve been saying. We have a very rich, broad, and deep relationship with Kazakhstan and its people. We have been developing this relationship since the independence of Kazakhstan 15 years ago. At every step of that relationship we have always had a major emphasis on development of democracy, a strong civil society, and observance of internationally recognized norms of human rights and civil liberties. If you look carefully at the joint statements from the last several visits of President Nazarbayev to the United States, you will see that this concern is reflected in our joint statements as well.
As I said, we have a very dynamic relationship, and one of the elements of that relationship is trying to work together to make progress in this area. We have emphasized that, and we will continue to emphasize that.
Q: (Gist) What do you think of plans between the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan to cooperate in construction of gas pipelines?
Ambassador: I think it’s really for Kazakhstan to answer the question of what types of associations it wishes to have in this area. Our aim, our desire is that gas from Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, would reach the world market as efficiently and effectively as is possible. I think it’s in Kazakhstan’s interest to ensure that they get the highest possible return from their natural resources, including natural gas. We think the best way to do that is to use market mechanisms to get the gas to competitive markets. But in the end, it’s really up to Kazakhstan to determine what is possible and achievable, and what is going to offer the best alternatives for Kazakhstan.
Q: What can you say about the recent visit of President Nazarbayev to the U.S.?
Ambassador: I think that President Nazarbayev had a very good visit to the United States. The visit itself I think showed the full range of the relationship that we have developed over the last 15 years. It had an emphasis on Kazakhstan’s excellent record in non-proliferation and disarmament. There were excellent discussions with American businesses and investors, with American congressmen and other political leaders, discussions with the vice president, the president, and other senior members of the United States government. They were friendly, they were businesslike, they were productive, and they covered the broad range of our relationship, as well as a number of critical topics in world news.
The joint statement that was issued by the two governments in connection with the visit is a very good reflection of where we are working together and what our intentions are to work in everything from fighting terrorism to building democracy and civil society.
The visit, I think, gave a good impulse for the further development of our relationship in all these areas.
Q: After the visit of Kazakhstan’s president to Great Britain, many areas of cooperation were defined, for example, the cooperation between the Regional Financial Center in Almaty and the British Stock Exchange. Our Sustainable Development Fund “Kazyna” plans to open a branch office in London. Does Kazakhstan have similarly concrete examples of cooperation with the United States?
Ambassador: I think our relationship is sufficiently mature that it doesn’t take a visit of the president in order to further our investment, our commercial business relationships. We are already the number one foreign investor in Kazakhstan. We think that is going to continue to be the case. This visit of the president can only help develop that further.
Q: Mr. Ambassador, recent events in Kyrgyzstan seem to point to a transition to democracy there. Do you share the opinion that Kazakhstani society is so backward that democracy will take at least ten years to get here?
Ambassador: I think that the issue of how democracy develops in various countries is one that has to be looked at in the prism of each of those countries individually and separately. It is true that in Kyrgyzstan there have been some very substantial steps forward, but also in Kyrgyzstan there are some really big challenges and difficulties that lie ahead for Kyrgyzstan [inaudible].
I think that Kyrgyzstan, too, has had a lot of progress and does have its own challenges in a number of areas in which more progress needs to be made, but I don’t think it’s particularly useful or even very accurate to try to compare the level of development, even though these countries are quite [inaudible]. This is true probably whether you’re talking about economic development, social development, or political.
Q: (Gist) December 16 will mark the 15th year of Kazakhstan’s independence. What can you say about progress in establishing democracy during that time? Can we interpret recent events like the protests against the destruction of property in the Shanyrak district and the reaction against efforts to ban right hand steering cars as grass roots democracy?
Ambassador: Twenty years ago, I was working at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, U.S.S.R. There is no comparison, none, between the state of democracy, human rights, and the ability for people to live their lives as they want between the U.S.S.R. in 1986 and Kazakhstan in 2006. It doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems, and that there doesn’t need to be further progress, and that there aren’t issues here and commitments that Kazakhstan doesn’t need to do more to live up to, just the opposite in fact. But the situation here is so much better than it was in the U.S.S.R. that it’s really not comparable.
You raise a very interesting point, though, about the willingness and the ability of citizens to come together around particular issues to influence the activities of governmental structures. I think that any wise government would recognize and welcome the ability of citizens to express their views so that government can carry out the wishes of the people in a way that underscores and strengthens stability rather than diminishes it.
I am very happy that the situation in Shanyrak did not deteriorate beyond the initial very dramatic and very tragic days. As far as the right wheel drive issue is concerned, I think it’s a subject fit for public debate, and I hope at the end of the day the correct decision can be made.
Q: Can you comment on the extradition of American businessman Mark Seidenfeld from Russia to Kazakhstan?
Ambassador: We’re certainly very aware of the case, and we will be following it very closely through our consular section. Our role is to ensure that he is afforded all the rights that he is entitled to by law, but I don’t have any basis at this point to make any comments on the nature of the case that has been made against him.
Q: The European Union is pursuing efforts to increase cooperation with Kazakhstan in the energy market and the E.U. will be here in Astana later this week to talk to the president. What is your opinion of these E.U. efforts to intensify cooperation?
Ambassador: I think we’re going to jump on the same side of the balance beam. We very much encourage this type of policy dialogue. We want to encourage diversity of supply, diversity of markets. We have very good and close relations with our E.U. colleagues in this area. We consult closely and often, and we truly welcome their greater interest in Central Asia in general and in the energy sector in particular. In policy I don’t see any differences whatsoever between the United States and the E.U. on Central Asia and energy [inaudible].
Q: Have you seen the Sacha Baron Cohen film, and what was your impression?
Ambassador: I’ve only seen [inaudible] two little tiny 15 second clips on the internet. Maybe I’ll have a chance to see it. At that point I will have some idea of what to say about it. But I think based on what I’ve heard and read, and I’ve talked to some friends in the United States who have seen the movie, I could say that I think the movie is more about the United States and Americans than it is about Kazakhstan. I’m not sure I agree with them about America, either. [Laughter].
Q: It was reported several years ago that sum of $90 million was required for the construction of U.S. Embassy in Astana. Is this accurate?
Ambassador: I think the construction contract is about $60 million and the total cost to the U.S. government is something about $80 million.
Q: Democrats have now the majority to Senate and Congress. How will it affect U.S. policy, in particular towards Kazakhstan?
Ambassador: That’s a very good question. I think as you read the American press and commentary over the next few weeks and months, you’ll see lots of print devoted to that particular subject. But the main determiner, the main force in determining American foreign policy, has always been the president. Obviously, the Congress has a very important role and has a lot of influence, particularly when it comes to budgets.
With regard to Central Asia and Kazakhstan, I don’t think that there is a major difference between the two parties on the overall approach, our overall policy toward the region and toward Kazakhstan. You could probably find more differences within the Republican Party and within the Democratic Party on this than between the two parties. But overall, I think there is pretty much of a strong bipartisan hue on where we ought to be going in Central Asia, which is for greater engagement and moving our relations forward, particularly with Kazakhstan.
When President Nazarbayev was in Washington he had an event with a number of congressmen and senators who were representatives of both parties, and we’ve had congressional delegations here over the last two years, again with representatives of both parties. I have not noticed any particular partisan differences in their views.
Q: (Gist) The movie seems to show how ignorant Americans are of Kazakhstan. Just how many American citizens live here who have first hand knowledge of our country?
Ambassador: I don’t think we know exactly how many Americans there are at any one moment in Kazakhstan, but the number is probably I would guess somewhere in the low thousands. I think if you want to speak generally about the United States as a whole, I think the knowledge of many places that are far from our shores can be pretty minimal. In fact, that is one of the secrets for Sacha Cohen’s approach to the subject, to pick a country where there’s minimal knowledge in the United States so he could then play on the lack of knowledge.
But let me actually say that I think there are some areas where I think we’ve got pretty good knowledge of Kazakhstan. Certainly among the foreign policy elites, the people who work and live in foreign policy, whether they’re in the governments or in academia or in political circles, they know Kazakhstan very well, government and non-government.
There are a number of areas such as Tucson, Arizona where Kazakhstan is extremely well known because of relationships that have been built up through sister city and other relationships over the past 15 years and more. And there are hundreds of American families that have hosted high school students from Kazakhstan, and they know a lot about Kazakhstan.
This coming year we’ll have probably about 2,000 students from Kazakhstan in the United States, and everywhere you have a student from Kazakhstan, you know it will start knowledge about the country. Every year for the last several years we’ve had anywhere from 500 to 1,000 parents come here and adopt children from Kazakhstan, and they will never lose their connection with Kazakhstan.
All these little points begin to spread out and knowledge begins to move around. So I am very optimistic that Kazakhstan will be better and better known--and not just because everybody in America will have seen Borat and will say, “What is Kazakhstan really like?”
There is one very important thing I should mention, too, which is that there are also cultural exchanges as well. Not only do we bring American cultural figures here, but there have been cultural orchestras, singers, artists, who have gone to the United States that share their vision of Kazakhstan’s culture. We have right now in the United States a major exhibit of archeological objects from Kazakhstan called “Of Grass and Gold” that will be touring the United States for the next two years, including the parts of the Golden Warrior, which again will for hundreds of thousands of Americans make Central Asia and its very rich history real to people as they see the achievements of the people who have lived in this part of the world for thousands of years.
Q: (Gist). You have said before the United States would interested in supplying nuclear power reactors for Kazakhstan, but it seems Kazakhstan has chosen Russia as a partner instead. What is your response?
Ambassador: The market for civilian nuclear power reactors is a highly competitive one. There are a number of elements including cost, safety, efficiency, effectiveness, and many other issues that any purchaser has to take into account when reaching the decision for what particular nuclear reactor to purchase and build.
We think that the United States offers excellent nuclear power reactors for civilian uses, and we’re always happy to try to encourage the sale of those reactors to any country where there’s an interest, including Kazakhstan. In the end, the purchaser makes the decision based on a whole number of factors, and I can’t predict what at the end of the day will be built here in Kazakhstan, or when it will be built.
There is another even more important issue, which is any country that builds and operates nuclear power plants for civilian use needs a very hefty independent system of regulation and safety oversight. We have a very good system, we think, as do a number of other countries, and we are very willing and eager to provide technical assistance to share our knowledge as Kazakhstan develops its own system of regulation and oversight regardless of what kind of reactor you purchase.