THIRTY YEARS OF US-KAZAKHSTAN RELATIONS: THE WINTER CRISIS AND PATH FORWARD - Thirty years after independence, Kazakhstan found itself at an inflection point. The unrest in January 2022 underscored some of the inadequacies accompanying modern Kazakhstan’s solid economic development and growing geopolitical importance in Central Asia. This discussion focuses on 30 years of the strong, multifaceted US-Kazakhstan relationship, the tragic events of January, and the overall future of Kazakhstan.

The US is reassessing its role in Central Asia and Kazakhstan is steadily becoming a regional leader. How can Washington and Nur-Sultan best pursue their shared interests for the next thirty years of cooperation?

Daniel Witt, president of the International Tax and Investment Center, opened the event, followed by keynote remarks from H.E. Yerzhan Ashikbayev, ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States. Melinda Haring, then deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, moderated a discussion with Dr. Kamran Bokhari, director of analytical development at the Newlines Institute, Dr. Ariel Cohen, nonresident senior fellow at the Eurasia Center and senior fellow with the International Tax and Investment Center, and Ambassador John Herbst, senior director of the Eurasia Center, on the achievements and untapped potential of US-Kazakhstan relations.

ORIGINAL AIRDATE: 3/07/2022