Ritz Carlton Hotel, Washington, DC
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR COLEMAN: Good morning. My name is Isobel Coleman, and I’m the Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development. I’m honored to be here today to celebrate a tremendous milestone—Kazakhstan’s 30th anniversary of independence.
Administrator Power and I, and all of us at USAID, would like to share a big quttuqtaymuz to the Kazakhstani people on this momentous occasion.
I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting your beautiful country, but I understand that our partnership is baked—quite literally—into the American tradition. They say there’s nothing more American than apple pie—and we have Kazakhstan, the birthplace of apples, to thank for that.
Kazakhstan’s stunning mountains are known for their historic wild apples—and as an avid hiker, your Alatau Mountains have long been on my bucket list.
Three decades ago, Kazakhstan embarked on a new and uncertain journey. Driving you was the belief that all citizens have the right to security, prosperity, and dignity. And the American people have stood beside you on this journey.
USAID has proudly partnered with Kazakhstan since the 1990s. Over the last 20 years, we’ve invested close to one and a half billion dollars and worked with the Kazakhstani people as you strive to bring about a future filled with even greater opportunity and promise.
Through USAID’s partnership with Kazakhstan, we have witnessed the strides you’ve made in the area of good governance, including improving the responsiveness of the institutions and systems in the country to the needs of civil society, and promoting free media.
For example, USAID has worked to solidify the role of the media as a pillar of democracy in Kazakhstan, including by providing production grants to Kazakhstani media outlets to increase and improve locally produced content; providing audiences with access to a variety of sources of information; and providing more opportunities for women in media through technical training and other necessary skills.
We also shared expertise to support reforms that improved the prospect of greater foreign direct investment. Investor confidence has soared, with Kazakhstan reaching 22nd in the world in the World Bank’s 2020 Doing Business report--rising from 55th in 2015.
We’ve worked together to spur the uptake of green energy in Kazakhstan. Since 2018, USAID has supported renewable energy auctions in Kazakhstan that attracted private companies to invest in solar, wind, and hydropower electricity projects to generate more than 1,400 megawatts, leveraging nearly $2 billion in private investment.
As you have worked to improve the well-being of all Kazakhs, USAID has been deeply involved in Kazakhstan’s fight against tuberculosis, purchasing critical equipment to ensure that every citizen has access to rapid diagnostics for TB and drug-resistant TB. These machines dramatically shortened the time from diagnosis to treatment.
USAID prioritizes Kazakhstani women’s empowerment--especially their economic empowerment--because when we increase incomes and opportunities for women, entire communities, economies, and countries benefit. We are helping women entrepreneurs build stronger networks across the country, connecting rural women to online trading platforms, and expanding women’s access to business and financial education.
And as we know, justice for all means tackling the climate crisis. We all have a stake in that fight—and in preserving the remarkable development progress that it threatens.
To do our part, USAID is expanding our clean energy partnerships in Kazakhstan to include smart grid and rooftop solar technology, auctions for flexible generation, and supporting Kazakhstan’s Low Carbon Development Plan.
We are also helping with the restoration of the Aral Sea by establishing new forests, which will decrease soil salinity and improve air quality while providing valuable data to guide future restoration efforts.
And of course, we continue to fight COVID-19. The United States has provided almost $7 million to help Kazakhstan combat COVID-19. We have trained more than 5,000 health care workers and helped 300 medical facilities improve their pandemic response. Our local partners reached nearly half of all Kazakhstanis with accurate information on COVID-19, helping to stop deadly disinformation in its tracks. We worked with local communities in rural villages to teach nearly 200,000 vulnerable children about infection prevention and control. We are supporting strengthening sequencing capacity, which will help detect and monitor Omicron very closely. We will continue to stand with Kazakhstan as the fight against COVID-19 continues.
Like the sun on your national flag, Kazakhstan is brightening the future for generations to come. In just three short decades, Kazakhstan has achieved upper-middle-income country status and expanded skills and expertise in nearly every field.
And you’re not stopping there. You’ve also established your own international development agency, KazAID, which is a testament to your progress and your desire to lift others as you climb. USAID is committed to supporting KazAID’s goal to increase social, political, and economic stability and security throughout Central Asia, including in Afghanistan.
I’d also like to commend Kazakhstan’s role in the international response to the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Thank you for facilitating the safe passage of vulnerable Afghans out of harm’s way.
I am pleased to announce that earlier this week, our Mission in Nur-Sultan launched Human Rights Focus:Women and Children--a new human rights program that will support and strengthen government and civil-society partnerships through the initiation of educational activities, facilitated discussions, and a knowledge sharing platform on women and children’s rights. Our collaboration on this initiative will help reduce gender-based violence and bullying in schools while enhancing women’s economic, political, and social empowerment and advancing human rights.
The new human rights program comes at an opportune time as we discuss establishment of a high-level U.S.-Kazakhstan Human Rights Working Group. Congratulations on this great initiative. USAID and our State Department colleagues look forward to working with you to make this vision a reality.
Congratulations again on the momentous milestone of 30 years of independence. Kazakhstan has a strong partner in the United States, and USAID looks forward to continuing our collaboration in the years ahead. Thank you for your partnership and friendship.