Exploring US Relations with Central Asia: Roundtable in Washington D.C.
The Washington, D.C., roundtable discussion on American trade and investments in Central Asia took place on July 24. Hosted by the International Tax and Investment Center and the Center for International Private Enterprise, the event brought together representatives from American businesses, the United States Congress, the expert community, and diplomats.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta and Joe Wilson, prominent figures in the House of Representatives and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, attended the roundtable. They expressed their support for strengthening economic ties with Central Asia and highlighted the importance of establishing permanent normal trade relations with Kazakhstan and other countries in the region.
The United States is a major investor in Kazakhstan’s economy, with trade turnover reaching $4 billion in 2023 and continuing to grow. Key sectors attracting investment cooperation include finance, energy, retail, mechanical engineering, mining, transport, communications, pharmaceuticals, and real estate. Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to the United States, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, emphasized critical minerals, agriculture, and IT technologies as promising areas for exploration.
Ashikbayev underscored Kazakhstan’s commitment to a multi-vector balanced foreign policy, emphasizing the importance of constructive relations with all global partners, including the United States. He highlighted the diversifying partnership between the two countries, with new production facilities like the PepsiCo plant in the Almaty Region.
Ariel Cohen, a managing director at the ITIC Energy, Growth & Security Program, stressed the significance of Central Asian countries and the potential for increased investment in various sectors. Recent years have seen increased political and economic contacts between the United States and Central Asia, culminating in the first-ever presidential summit in a C5+1 format in New York in 2023.
Overall, the roundtable discussion underscored the growing importance of Central Asia as a strategic region for trade and investment, with both American and Kazakh leaders emphasizing the mutual benefits of strengthening economic ties between the two nations.
