Kazakhstan: Central Asia's Vital Nation

Kazakhstan: Central Asia's Vital Nation

06/27/14

Erlan Idrissovhttp://nationalinterest.org/feature/kazakhstan-central-asias-vital-nation-10763

Energy, Economic Development, Politics, Kazakhstan

TNI's Editor speaks with Kazakh Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov.

Editor’s Note: The National Interest’s Editor Jacob Heilbrunn spoke with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov.

Minister Idrissov has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a senior diplomat. In 1992, Mr. Idrissov was appointed Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the UN in New York City. Just three years later, he began work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan as the Head of the American Department while also acting as Ambassador-at-Large. Idrissov later became assistant to the President of Kazakhstan, working on international issues. In 1997, he was nominated First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. Following his service in this position, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan in October 1999. Mr. Idrissov was posted to London in 2002 to serve as Ambassador to the UK, Norway, and Sweden. He continued to work in Europe until he was named Ambassador to the United States on July 7, 2007, where he is still remembered as one of the most effective, eloquent and formidable ambassadors in Washington.

The interview was conducted on June 25, 2014.

Heilbrunn: Will Kazakhstan develop nuclear energy?

Idrissov: We have world-class reserves in oil and gas, and coal; and we are the number one producer of natural uranium at the moment. Of course, having these resources, we plan to develop nuclear energy in Kazakhstan. We have experience, human capital–people who can build and run facilities for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. And we also have an impeccable record in terms of non-proliferation and export control, having contributed greatly to world security by renouncing the huge nuclear arsenal we inherited from the Soviet Union. Therefore, we want to make sure that we bring value to the nuclear sector. Not just producing natural uranium, but producing more added value from uranium.

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