[Senate Hearing 118-49]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     S. Hrg. 118-49

                        GEOPOLITICAL COMPETITION
                          AND ENERGY SECURITY
                            IN CENTRAL ASIA

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                       SUBCOMMITTEE ON NEAR EAST,
                       SOUTH ASIA, CENTRAL ASIA,
                          AND COUNTERTERRORISM
                          
                                 OF THE

                     COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION
                               __________

                             MARCH 8, 2023

                               __________



       Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Relations
       
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                  Available via http://www.govinfo.gov

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                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------     

                 COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS        

             ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey, Chairman        
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland           JAMES E. RISCH, Idaho
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire          MARCO RUBIO, Florida
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware         MITT ROMNEY, Utah
CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut        PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska
TIM KAINE, Virginia                    RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon                   TODD YOUNG, Indiana
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey             JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming
BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii                   TED CRUZ, Texas
CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland             BILL HAGERTY, Tennessee
TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois              TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
                Damian Murphy, Staff Director          
       Christopher M. Socha, Republican Staff Director          
                   John Dutton, Chief Clerk          




             SUBCOMMITTEE ON NEAR EAST, SOUTH ASIA,        
               CENTRAL ASIA, AND COUNTERTERRORISM        

           CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, Connecticut, Chairman        
BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland         TODD YOUNG, Indiana
JEANNE SHAHEEN, New Hampshire        MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TIM KAINE, Virginia                  TED CRUZ, Texas
CORY A. BOOKER, New Jersey           MARCO RUBIO, Florida

                              (ii)        

  
                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Murphy, Hon. Christopher, U.S. Senator From Connecticut..........     1

Young, Hon. Todd, U.S. Senator From Indiana......................     3

Lu, Hon. Donald, Assistant Secretary of State for South and 
  Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC     4
    Prepared Statement...........................................     6

Pyatt, Hon. Geoffrey, Assistant Secretary of State for Energy 
  Resources, U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC............     7
    Prepared Statement...........................................     9

              Additional Material Submitted for the Record

Responses of Mr. Donald Lu to Questions Submitted by Senator 
  Jeanne Shaheen.................................................    24

Responses of Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt to Questions Submitted by Senator 
  Jeanne Shaheen.................................................    24

Responses of Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt to Questions Submitted by Senator 
  Cory Booker....................................................    25

                                 (iii)

  

 
                     GEOPOLITICAL COMPETITION AND 
                    ENERGY SECURITY IN CENTRAL ASIA

                              ----------                              


                        WEDNESDAY, MARCH 8, 2023

                           U.S. Senate,    
             Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia,
                Central Asia, and Counterterrorism,
                            Committee on Foreign Relations,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:20 p.m., in 
room SD-419, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Christopher 
Murphy, chairman of the subcommittee presiding.
    Present: Senators Murphy [presiding], Kaine, and Young.

         OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. CHRISTOPHER MURPHY, 
                 U.S. SENATOR FROM CONNECTICUT

    Senator Murphy. I am going to call this meeting of the 
Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and 
Counterterrorism to order. Someday we will find a way to rename 
this subcommittee that--something shorter.
    Senator Young. Have you thought about the acronym?
    Senator Murphy. Yes, I have not yet. I have not worked it 
out.
    For now we are Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and 
Counterterrorism and we welcome both the Honorable Donald Lu 
and the Honorable Geoffrey Pyatt to testify before us today.
    Senator Young and I will make some brief opening comments 
and then we will turn to both of you for your opening 
statements and then questions from the members.
    We are convening this subcommittee today to discuss Central 
Asia, and when we talk about Central Asia we are talking about 
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyz 
Republic.
    This hearing comes at a really opportune time a week after 
Secretary Blinken traveled to the region for the first time and 
a year after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has, 
frankly, shifted the geopolitical landscape in Central Asia.
    Russia's invasion of Ukraine has accelerated geopolitical 
competition that was already underway in the region as Central 
Asian states seek to balance their dependence on any one 
regional power.
    Preoccupied in Ukraine, Russia is struggling to preserve 
its traditional influence--some might say dominance--in the 
region or parts of the region.
    It has redeployed many of the troops that were stationed in 
the region to Ukraine and Central Asian governments appear to 
be rethinking Russia's ability to serve as a dependable 
security provider and mediator on regional security and 
economic issues.
    Meanwhile, China, like it is everywhere, is ramping up its 
already active engagement in Central Asia seeking to build on 
its really big economic investments in the region and expand 
its influence into the diplomatic and security spheres.
    This is the same story we hear everywhere around the world, 
but maybe more acute in neighboring Central Asia. Turkey, 
India, Iran, and the EU are also exploring new openings and 
offering Central Asian states opportunities for greater 
connectivity to the outside world.
    Now, the United States has been a friend and a partner to 
Central Asian states for the last 30 years. When the Soviet 
Union collapsed in 1991, we were the first nation to recognize, 
for instance, Kazakhstan's independence, and our support for 
the independent sovereignty and territorial integrity of 
Central Asian countries, it has been a cornerstone of U.S. 
policy ever since.
    Russia's brutal war of aggression in Ukraine reminds us 
that the words, these principles of sovereignty and 
independence, they have real meaning, especially for a region 
long dominated by Moscow.
    Frankly, the invasion has reminded these Central Asian 
countries that relying on Vladimir Putin to guarantee your 
independence is a really, really bad bet.
    The United States is also, frankly, rethinking whether the 
ways we have dealt with these nations needs to change. I would 
argue that it does.
    For the last 20 years our engagement in Central Asia was 
focused, arguably, primarily on ensuring supply routes for U.S. 
military operations in Afghanistan.
    However, it is past time to recognize that our efforts and 
our interests in Central Asia are broader and that one of the 
benefits of our withdrawal from Afghanistan is that now our 
policy in Central Asia does not need to be dominated by 
protecting our presence inside the Afghan civil war.
    This is a part of the world that does have incredible 
untapped potential and that is one of the things we want to 
focus on today. The people of Central Asia, they want a 
connection with the American people.
    Central Asia, as we know, is rich in critical resources 
like hydrocarbons and rare earth minerals. There are investment 
opportunities, connections between U.S. businesses and Central 
Asian businesses, and we also want to work closely with Central 
Asian states to maximize the impact of our sanctions against 
Russia and provide alternatives to Russian-made military 
equipment.
    However--this is the final thing I will say--our policies 
in Central Asia do need to be realistic and our eagerness to 
build new ties should not unnecessarily tie us to despotic 
regimes there.
    This is a region whose countries are ranked among the least 
free and least democratic in the world, and let us be honest, 
we have had little success in a lot of our engagement there on 
human rights issues.
    This is a region where Russia and China are still deeply 
invested and engaged and where we saw time after time the 
limits of our influence during the war in Afghanistan.
    I am so encouraged by the Biden administration's focus on 
the C5+1 diplomatic platform. I am eager to learn more about 
that today, but also how we can really set a digestible series 
of objectives for our engagement in the region.
    I look forward to hearing more about the Administration's 
vision for a right-sized U.S. role in the region in the post-
Afghanistan war post-Ukraine invasion world.
    I look forward to hearing how Secretary Blinken's visit to 
the region last week helped advance these objectives, including 
a firsthand account from Assistant Secretary Lu, who was on the 
Secretary's trip.
    Finally, I look forward to our witnesses' views on the 
steps the United States Congress can take to improve our 
relations with Central Asian states.
    Senator Young.

                 STATEMENT OF HON. TODD YOUNG, 
                   U.S. SENATOR FROM INDIANA

    Senator Young. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this 
hearing. I want to welcome Assistant Secretary Lu, Assistant 
Secretary Pyatt, to the subcommittee.
    As we have said in other subcommittee hearings, this topic 
is critical for us to examine because we know that great power 
competition is not confined to one particular geographic 
region.
    Similarly, America's role in an often under-resourced 
region of the world has never been more important. Building on 
Secretary Blinken's recent visit and in light of the ongoing 
tragic conflict in Ukraine, I am glad we are holding this 
hearing to examine our relationship with Central Asian 
countries and to identify where opportunities and challenges 
exist.
    As we look at geopolitical competition in Central Asia we 
must do so with the people in mind. The future in Central Asia 
must be one where human rights are valued, where economic 
activity is flourishing, the private sector is engaged, and the 
people are determining their own future for themselves.
    Neither Russia nor China can help deliver this future for 
these societies. As evidenced by the continuing crisis in 
Ukraine, Russia does not care about human lives nor does it 
value a country's sovereignty.
    The tragedy in Ukraine must be a wakeup call to those in 
the region who still see relations with Russia as something to 
be pursued.
    In China we have witnessed horrific policies in Xinjiang 
targeting ethnic minorities who also call these countries home 
and yet many are still content to trade with China and deepen 
ties via the Belt and Road Initiative.
    These countries must realize the nature of who they are 
working with and realize that partnering with the United States 
and others presents a much better opportunity.
    Of course, we must take actions to become that partner of 
choice. The chairman mentioned adjustments to Jackson-Vanik. I 
am open to discussing this and other ideas further.
    With Russia occupied by the war in Ukraine, now is a 
historic opportunity for Central Asian countries to chart for 
themselves a new course in their history, one that secures 
their sovereignty and economic stability for their people and 
avoids dependence on a larger coercive neighbor in either 
Moscow or Beijing.
    I believe we are at a crossroads in our relationship with 
the region and we must seize this opportunity to be the partner 
of choice. I am pleased we are here to discuss such an 
important issue.
    Mr. Chairman, I thank you so much.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you, Senator Young. Looking forward 
to your questions.
    I will introduce both of our witnesses and then ask 
Secretary Lu to begin, followed by Secretary Pyatt.
    It is our pleasure to introduce the Honorable Donald Lu, 
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian 
Affairs. Assistant Secretary Lu previously served as U.S. 
Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Albania, held other important 
positions in India, Azerbaijan.
    Secretary Pyatt, well known to this committee, is the 
Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources. Assistant 
Secretary Pyatt previously served as U.S. Ambassador to both 
Greece and Ukraine, holding other important positions in India 
and Vienna.
    First to you, Secretary Lu, then to you, Secretary Pyatt. 
Look forward to your testimony today.

 STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DONALD LU, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF 
 STATE FOR SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIAN AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 
                     STATE, WASHINGTON, DC

    Mr. Lu. Thank you.
    Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, colleagues, as was 
mentioned, I just returned on Friday from Central Asia with the 
Secretary. It was his first visit to the region as Secretary of 
State and I am pleased to report each of the countries is eager 
for more U.S. engagement.
    We saw real and substantial opportunity there. What I would 
propose to do is say a few words about Central Asia and 
Ukraine.
    Then I will talk about the economies of the region and how 
Russia's war in Ukraine is affecting the lives of everyday 
people. Finally, I want to say a few words about human rights.
    The governments of Central Asia have been under intense 
pressure to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine. They have been 
pressured to send troops from Central Asia to fight and they 
have refused.
    They have been pressured to recognize Russia's purported 
annexation of parts of Ukraine and they have refused. They have 
been pressured to publicly endorse Putin's claims that Ukraine 
is merely a part of Russia. Not only have they refused, several 
have loudly and clearly said that they support Ukraine's 
sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
    Now, it is true that Central Asian countries have abstained 
on U.N. resolutions condemning the Russian invasion, but I 
would argue that even that is a courageous act as they have 
been under enormous pressure to vote against these resolutions.
    People in Central Asia have historically had strong ties to 
both Russia and Ukraine. Many of them studied in Ukraine, did 
business there, or have friends and family living in Ukraine.
    People in Central Asia have responded with compassion to 
the suffering of Ukrainians. They have sent tons of 
humanitarian supplies--blankets, clothing, food, medicine.
    When Russia destroyed some of Ukraine's electrical grid, 
Central Asia sent generators. Private citizens in Kazakhstan 
raised money to send yurts to Ukraine where regular people who 
suddenly found themselves without electricity and without heat 
could come out of the cold, get a hot cup of tea, charge their 
cell phones. They call these the yurts of invincibility.
    Secretary Blinken told his Central Asian counterparts that 
the United States sees the hardship in Central Asia caused by 
Putin's war of aggression and we want to help. We see the 
rising food and fuel prices. We see the rising unemployment 
levels. We see difficulties in importing and exporting goods to 
and from the region. We see large numbers of migrants coming 
from Russia to escape conscription.
    Last year, the Congress generously provided $41.5 million 
in new assistance to help Central Asia meet these challenges.
    Of that amount, $16.5 million is being used to promote food 
security. The remaining $25 million is being used to retrain 
workers to reduce unemployment, to pilot new trade routes that 
do not go through Russia or China, and to help private sector 
businesses to succeed and to grow.
    Last week, Secretary Blinken announced that we would be 
working with the Congress to secure an additional $20 million 
to support these programs. He also announced $5 million to 
support regional connectivity through economic and energy 
programs.
    We want to show that we are a reliable partner that 
acknowledges the hardships caused by Russia's war of 
aggression.
    Mr. Chairman, I have had the opportunity to work and live 
in Central Asia on and off for the past 20 years. Most of us 
expected to see progress on human rights proceeding at a 
snail's pace.
    I am happy to report that we have seen some important 
strides just in the past year. In Uzbekistan, the International 
Labor Organization has recognized the end to systemic state-
sponsored forced labor and child labor in the cotton harvests.
    The Government of Uzbekistan achieved this through 
implementing a series of presidential decrees that prohibited 
the use of force and child labor in the cotton production and 
abolished cotton quotas at the national and local levels.
    In Kazakhstan the courts convicted three policemen in 
January for torturing detainees after video footage emerged 
showing beatings and other physical abuse.
    In February, the courts convicted five more policemen 
charged with torturing detainees with a hot iron. These are 
small numbers and steps remain to hold security services fully 
accountable, but these convictions reflect a presidential 
priority to end torture and physical abuse in places of 
detention.
    This is a goal that we fully support. There is a lot more 
that needs to be done in Central Asia to prevent human rights 
abuses, to promote freedom of religion and labor rights, and to 
secure a free press.
    Seeing these steps over the past year makes me optimistic 
that with the help of partners, Central Asian countries can 
make important progress in the short term in improving respect 
for human rights.
    Let me end where I began. The countries of Central Asia are 
under tremendous pressure from Moscow. They do not want to be 
caught up in Putin's war. They want to live in freedom and 
decide their future for themselves.
    We can support these aims through well-crafted foreign 
assistance programs with support for human rights, and, most 
importantly, with our sincere engagement.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Lu follows:]

                  Prepared Statement of Mr. Donald Lu

    Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, colleagues, I just returned on 
Friday from Central Asia traveling with Secretary Blinken. This was his 
first visit to the region as Secretary. I am pleased to report that 
each of the countries is eager for more U.S. engagement. We saw real 
and substantial opportunity there.
    I propose saying a few words about Central Asia and Ukraine. Then 
I'll talk about the economies of the region and how Russia's war in 
Ukraine is affecting the lives of everyday people. Finally, I want to 
say a few words about human rights.
                        central asia and ukraine
    The governments of Central Asia have been under intense pressure to 
support Putin's invasion of Ukraine. They have been pressured to send 
troops from Central Asia to fight. They refused. They have been 
pressured to recognize Russia's purported annexation of parts of 
Ukraine. They refused. They have been pressured to publicly endorse 
Putin's claims that Ukraine is merely a part of Russia. They have not 
only refused, but several have loudly and clearly said they support 
Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity.
    It is true that Central Asian countries have abstained on UN 
resolutions condemning Russia's invasion, but even that is a courageous 
act as they have been under enormous pressure to vote against these 
resolutions. People in Central Asia have historically had strong ties 
to both Russia and Ukraine. Many studied in Ukraine, did business 
there, or have friends and family living in Ukraine.
    People in Central Asia have responded with compassion to the 
suffering of Ukrainians. They sent tons of humanitarian supplies--
blankets, clothing, and medicine. When Russia destroyed some of 
Ukraine's electrical grid, Central Asians sent generators. Private 
citizens in Kazakhstan raised money to send yurts to Ukraine, where 
regular people who suddenly found themselves without electricity and 
heating could come to get out of the cold, have a hot cup of tea, and 
charge their cellphones. They called them Yurts of Invincibility.
                     the economies of central asia
    Secretary Blinken told his Central Asian counterparts that the 
United States sees the hardship in Central Asia caused by Putin's war 
of aggression, and we want to help. We see rising food and fuel prices. 
We see rising unemployment. We see difficulties in importing and 
exporting goods to and from the region. And we see large numbers of 
migrants coming from Russia to escape conscription.
    Last year, the Congress generously provided $41.5 million in new 
assistance to help Central Asia meet these challenges. Of this amount, 
$16.5 million is being used to promote food security. The remaining $25 
million is being used to retrain workers to reduce unemployment, to 
pilot new trade routes that do not go through Russia, and to help 
private sector businesses to succeed and to grow.
    Last week, Secretary Blinken announced that we would be working 
with Congress on securing an additional $20 million to support these 
programs. He also announced $5 million to support regional connectivity 
through economic and energy programs. We want to show that we are a 
reliable partner that acknowledges the hardships caused by Russia's war 
of aggression.
                              human rights
    Mr. Chairman, I have had the opportunity to work and live in 
Central Asia on and off for the past 20 years. Most of us expect to see 
progress on human rights proceeding at a snail's pace. I am happy to 
report that we have seen some important strides over the past year.
    In Uzbekistan, the International Labor Organization has recognized 
the end to systemic state-sponsored forced labor and child labor in the 
cotton harvest. The Government of Uzbekistan achieved this through 
implementing a series of presidential decrees that prohibited the use 
of forced and child labor in cotton production and abolished cotton 
quotas at the national and local levels.
    In Kazakhstan, the courts convicted three policemen in January for 
torturing detainees after video footage emerged showing beatings and 
other physical abuse. In February, the courts convicted five more 
policemen charged with torturing detainees with a hot iron. These are 
small numbers, and steps remain to hold security services fully 
accountable, but these convictions reflect a presidential priority to 
end torture and physical abuse in places of detention--a goal we fully 
support.
    There is a lot more that needs to be done in Central Asia to 
prevent human rights abuses, promote freedom of religion and labor 
rights, and secure a free press. Seeing these steps over the past year 
makes me optimistic that with the help of their partners, Central Asian 
countries can make important progress in the short-term in improving 
respect for human rights.
                                closing
    Let me end where I began. The countries of Central Asia are under 
tremendous pressure from Moscow. They do not want to be caught up in 
Putin's war. They want to live in freedom and decide their future for 
themselves.
    We can support these aims with well-crafted foreign assistance 
programs, with support for human rights, and most importantly, with our 
sincere engagement.

    Senator Murphy. Thank you.
    Secretary Pyatt.

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE GEOFFREY PYATT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
   OF STATE FOR ENERGY RESOURCES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 
                         WASHINGTON, DC

    Mr. Pyatt. Chairman Murphy, Ranking Member Young, members 
of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear 
today to discuss the Administration's efforts to strengthen 
energy security and accelerate energy transition in Central 
Asia.
    Over the past year, Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of 
Ukraine and weaponization of energy have disrupted global 
markets in ways that will ripple for years to come, including 
in Central Asia.
    For most of the world Russia will never again be viewed as 
a reliable energy supplier, but facing setbacks in Ukraine, 
Putin has sought to reassert influence over the countries that 
Russia traditionally considered within its sphere.
    Although Central Asia has some of the world's largest 
fossil fuel deposits and notable renewable energy potential, 
the region is also landlocked and vulnerable with access to 
global markets presenting logistical and geopolitical 
challenges.
    My colleagues in the State Department's Bureau of Energy 
Resources and I seek to strengthen Central Asia's energy 
security, provide a strategic counterweight to malign actors, 
and support Central Asian countries in achieving their climate 
goals.
    Reflecting today's energy security challenges and the 
Administration's focus on energy security transition and 
access, ENR has increased its foreign assistance budget 
requests within the Department's overall request to $30.5 
million in FY23.
    We appreciate Congress' past and continued support for our 
work to ensure the United States is the preferred partner for 
Central Asian countries in energy security and transition.
    Since my first week as Assistant Secretary I have 
prioritized ENR engagement with Kazakhstan, reflecting that 
country's potential on a broad range of bureau priorities, 
including energy security, renewables, methane abatement, 
nuclear, and critical minerals.
    At a time when global energy markets are tight, every 
barrel counts. Kazakhstan exports 1 percent of total global 
crude oil production, most of which is handled by two American 
energy companies.
    Eighty percent of its exports leave through the Caspian 
Pipeline Consortium, which terminates in the Russian port of 
Novorossiysk. Through the revitalized U.S.-Kazakhstan strategic 
energy dialogue, ENR, along with the Department of Energy and 
other State Department stakeholders, is supporting the 
Government of Kazakhstan to strengthen its energy security by 
accelerating transition and diversifying export routes.
    In February, with U.S. encouragement the state-owned energy 
companies of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan finalized a commercial 
agreement to ship an additional 1.5 million tons of oil per 
year via the Caspian and Azerbaijan to global customers, 
covering about 2 percent of Kazakh net exports.
    By focusing further on regional connectivity and export 
routes across the Caspian, Central Asian countries will have 
options that enable them to stand firm in the face of malign 
influence.
    In addition to Russia, China plays an important role in 
Central Asia's energy sector and is the dominant recipient of 
Central Asia's exported gas. In 2021, the PRC imported 26 
percent of its natural gas from Central Asia, mainly 
Turkmenistan.
    The United States encourages Turkmenistan to consider 
options for diversifying its natural gas exports, including to 
Europe. That will hinge, however, on the Turkmenistan 
Government making their market more attractive to Western 
energy companies.
    Aging fossil fuel infrastructure and poor leakage controls 
lead to high methane emissions from oil and gas production in 
Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
    Turkmenistan, for instance, is the world's fourth largest 
emitter from oil and gas, methane. Just yesterday, I joined 
former Secretary Kerry urging the Kazakh energy minister to 
join the Global Methane Pledge through which participants 
commit to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global 
methane emissions by at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 
2030. Of course, the most effective way to increase energy 
security is for all the Central Asian countries to accelerate 
their clean energy transitions.
    Central Asia has abundant wind and solar potential. 
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan use hydroelectricity for significant 
portions of their power generation, but as climate change 
shrinks the mountain glaciers supplying hydroelectric dams, 
that zero carbon power source dwindles, harming energy security 
and exacerbating regional conflicts over water access and 
management.
    In Istanbul last October I met with the deputy energy 
ministers of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan, 
all of whom emphasize the need to preserve and develop the 
region's renewable energy resources.
    A pacing factor in the energy transition will be the 
availability of critical energy minerals. As the world 
transitions to a clean energy economy, global demand for these 
critical minerals is set to skyrocket by 400 to 600 percent.
    Central Asia has sizeable critical minerals and rare earth 
element resource potential and the State Department is 
expanding our work in this area.
    Kazakhstan, meanwhile, produces 45 percent of the global 
uranium supply and is looking to deepen cooperation with the 
United States, including on technologies like small and modular 
reactors.
    When Central Asia gained independence from the Soviet Union 
31 years ago, the United States was among the region's first 
partners and first sources of foreign direct investment in the 
oil and gas sectors.
    As we face today's pressing challenges, Central Asia has 
the potential to be a valuable partner in our work on the 
geopolitics of energy, and ENR is eager to develop this 
opportunity.
    Thank you again for the committee's support in this effort 
and I look forward to addressing your questions.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Pyatt follows:]

                Prepared Statement of Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt

    Chairman Murphy, Ranking Member Young, and members of the 
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the 
Administration's efforts to strengthen energy security in Central Asia.
    During the past year, the consequences of Putin's war against 
Ukraine have echoed around the world, including in Central Asia. 
Putin's weaponization of energy has disrupted global markets in ways 
that will ripple for years to come, and I have seen the effects 
everywhere I travel. These effects include rising energy and commodity 
prices, surging demand for non-Russian gas, and an increased 
determination to accelerate the transition to clean energy sources. For 
most of the world, it is clear Russia never again will be viewed as a 
reliable supplier of energy. In the face of widespread condemnation on 
the global stage, Russia has sought to reassert its influence on the 
countries it traditionally considered within its sphere.
    Although Central Asia has some of the world's largest fossil fuel 
deposits and notable potential to increase renewable energy and clean 
technology, the region also is landlocked and vulnerable--with access 
to global markets through Russia to the north, Iran to the south, and 
the PRC to the east--presenting both logistical and geopolitical 
challenges. To support a secure, clean, and resilient energy future, my 
team in the State Department's Bureau of Energy Resources (ENR) seeks 
to strengthen Central Asia's energy security, provide a strategic 
counterweight to malign actors in the region, and support Central Asian 
countries in achieving their climate goals and protecting their 
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
    Given today's energy security challenges and the Administration's 
focus on energy security, transition, and access--including 
increasingly in Central Asia--ENR steadily has increased its foreign 
assistance budget requests within the Department's overall request to 
$30.5 million in FY 2023. We appreciate Congress's past and continued 
support for our work to ensure the United States is the preferred 
partner for Central Asian countries in both energy security and energy 
transition.
    At a time when global energy markets are tight thanks to Putin's 
weaponization of oil and gas, every barrel counts. Kazakhstan exports 
over 1 percent of total global crude oil production, most of which is 
handled by American energy companies. Eighty percent of its exports 
leave through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which terminates 
in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Through the newly 
revitalized U.S.-Kazakhstan Strategic Energy Dialogue, ENR, in 
conjunction with the Department of Energy and other stakeholders at the 
State Department, is engaging with the Government of Kazakhstan to 
strengthen its energy security by diversifying export routes and 
reducing dependence on Russia. As part of this work, we aim to address 
infrastructure needs in the ``Middle Corridor'' trade route across the 
Caspian and through Azerbaijan into Europe to better allow countries to 
export goods--including energy products and critical mineral 
commodities such as uranium--to global markets.
    In conjunction with the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs 
and the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment in the 
Department of State, ENR has also worked with the Government of 
Kazakhstan to pursue diversification of exit routes for crude oil. In 
February, KazMunayGaz and SOCAR, the respective state-owned energy 
companies from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, implemented a commercial 
agreement to ship 1.5 million tons of oil per year via the Caspian and 
Azerbaijan to global markets on the Mediterranean. By focusing on 
stronger regional connectivity among the states of Central Asia, and by 
seeking to expand export routes across the Caspian, Central Asian 
countries will have options that enable them to stand firm in the face 
of malign influence.
    The Central Asian countries that produce fossil fuels rely on the 
PRC as a critical export market. Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are two of 
the top 10 natural gas exporters to the PRC, shipping gas via 
pipelines. Nearly all of Turkmenistan's natural gas exports are 
destined for the PRC, providing the Turkmen treasury with the great 
majority of its revenue. In 2022, the PRC imported 67 percent of its 
pipeline gas from Central Asia--approximately 34 billion cubic meters 
(bcm) from Turkmenistan with an additional four bcm from Kazakhstan and 
four bcm from Uzbekistan. As domestic demand increases in Uzbekistan, 
and Kazakhstan seeks to transition its coal-based electricity 
generation to run on natural gas and renewables, the countries' exports 
to Beijing likely will decrease, increasing PRC demand for 
Turkmenistan-origin gas and deepening ties between Beijing and 
Ashgabat. The United States continues to discuss with Turkmenistan 
options for bringing Turkmenistan gas to Europe, perhaps via the 
Southern Gas Corridor, but that will hinge on decisions by the 
Turkmenistan Government to make their market more attractive to western 
international oil companies.
    Greater energy integration is one way to bolster energy security in 
Central Asia. Natural gas transmission within the region is limited by 
infrastructure gaps and historically low levels of trade and 
connectivity. Furthermore, aging infrastructure and export cuts during 
periods of high domestic demand--particularly during the heating 
season--contribute to rolling blackouts, hampering economic activity 
and putting population safety at risk. In 2022, a major technical fault 
in the regional power grid caused a blackout throughout large parts of 
Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan as the entire Central Asian grid 
system collapsed. A week of near-freezing temperatures this past 
January caused widespread power outages in Uzbekistan, disrupting 
transportation, heating, natural gas distribution, and water supplies. 
These infrastructure failures are not only an issue for human welfare, 
but also of energy security: as part of an effort to address limited 
supplies of natural gas, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan both signed new 
cooperation agreements with Gazprom, as Moscow seeks new markets for 
its natural gas to replace Europe and as Central Asian countries face 
growing domestic natural gas demand.
    Aging fossil fuel extraction infrastructure in the region and poor 
emissions control lead to disproportionately high methane emissions 
from oil and gas production in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan--resulting 
in significant wasted energy resources and major climate impacts. Based 
on data from the International Energy Agency and the World Bank, more 
than 400 billion cubic feet of natural gas (or about 12 billion cubic 
meters) is wasted every year from the region due to vented, leaked, and 
flared methane. This wasted volume is equivalent to Romania's entire 
annual gas demand. As a greenhouse gas, methane is over 86 times as 
potent as carbon dioxide in the near term, making Central Asian methane 
emissions a substantial contributor to climate change. Turkmenistan is 
the fourth-largest emitter of methane from the oil and gas sector 
worldwide, while Kazakhstan's sector is the 12th largest. The State 
Department and ENR, alongside other agencies, such as USTDA, EXIM, and 
DFC, have a strong interest in supporting investment in methane 
mitigation. We have engaged all the region's governments in signing up 
to the Global Methane Pledge, through which participants commit to 
contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions by 
at least 30 percent from 2020 levels by 2030.
    Of course, the most effective way to increase the energy security 
of all five Central Asian countries is through the clean energy 
transition. Shifting from fossil fuels to clean technologies would also 
contribute substantially to climate action goals and reduce air 
pollution, though this would require greater electric power integration 
among the countries.
    Worldwide, a pacing factor in the energy transition will be the 
availability of critical energy minerals. As the world transitions to a 
clean energy economy, global demand for these critical minerals is set 
to skyrocket by 400-600 percent over the next several decades. For 
minerals such as lithium and graphite used in electric vehicle 
batteries, demand will increase by even more--as much as 4,000 percent. 
Building stable, secure, and resilient supply chains for the minerals 
critical to our clean energy transition is important to our engagement 
with Central Asia. Central Asia has sizable critical mineral and rare 
earth element resource potential. The region has produced commodities 
such as bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, manganese, titanium, 
uranium, and zinc, but the actual extent of the region's mineral 
resource potential--in terms of diversity and quantity--is still to be 
fully determined. The use of modern exploration technologies and 
investment will be essential to unlocking the complex geology 
associated with these resources. With sound governance and experienced 
private sector partners, Central Asia could become an important 
contributor to advancing the global clean energy transition. At the 
State Department, ENR inaugurated the Minerals Security Partnership 
(MSP) to facilitate diversification and securing of critical minerals 
supply chains. The MSP, which includes 12 countries and the European 
Commission, aims to facilitate investment in mining opportunities using 
the highest environmental, social, and governance standards. As the 
partnership evolves, I expect the MSP will also look at projects in 
Central Asia that can diversify global critical minerals supply chains 
in ways that strive to meet our stated goals of high environmental, 
social, and governance standards.
    Our emphasis on secure and stable supply chains also has 
applications for nuclear fuel supply chains. Kazakhstan produces 45 
percent of global uranium supply and seeks to increase its exports to 
global markets. As we engage with allies and partners on reducing 
Russia's role in the oil and gas sectors, the Department also is 
working to build safe, diverse, and reliable supply chains for nuclear 
fuel and other critical supplies and services. Soviet-built reactors in 
the European Union, for instance, leave Moscow playing an outsized role 
in the nuclear sector. G7 nations have resolved to reduce their 
reliance on Russian nuclear energy and to help other countries seeking 
to do the same.
    Central Asia also has abundant solar and wind energy potential. 
Each country varies in its readiness and willingness to act on 
renewable energy expansion, which would also require greater 
electricity grid integration. Uzbekistan has shown notable ambition in 
tackling the climate crisis, with plans to reduce greenhouse gas 
emissions per unit of GDP by 35 percent of 2010 levels by 2030 and to 
increase the share of renewable energy sources to 25 percent of total 
power generation. Kazakhstan's National Green Growth Plan envisions the 
significant drawdown of coal as an energy source by 2030 and an 
increase to 50 percent renewable energy by 2050. Tajikistan and 
Kyrgyzstan both use hydroelectricity for power generation, providing 90 
and 53 percent of total power generation, respectively. As climate 
change shrinks the mountain glaciers supplying their hydroelectric 
power plants, that zero-carbon power source dwindles, diminishing 
energy security and exacerbating regional conflicts over water access 
and management. In my October travel to Istanbul, I met with the deputy 
energy ministers from Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Uzbekistan, 
and they emphasized the need to preserve and develop the region's 
renewable resources. Our foreign assistance, including USAID's Power 
Central Asia project, advances the clean energy transition and 
decreases energy sector methane emissions throughout Central Asia.
    When Central Asia gained independence from the Soviet Union 31 
years ago, the United States was among the first partners and sources 
of foreign direct investment, notably in the oil and natural gas 
sector. As we face today's pressing geopolitical challenges, including 
issues of energy supply security and the needs of the clean energy 
transition, Central Asia has the potential to be an effective and 
valuable partner in our work on the geopolitics of energy. Thank you. I 
look forward to addressing your questions.

    Senator Murphy. Thank you both for your testimony. We will 
begin questioning. We have got members of the subcommittee that 
are tuning in from offices and we may be joined later by other 
members in-person.
    Let me direct my first question to you, Secretary Lu. When 
you testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in 
September, you stated the Administration's support for the 
repeal of the 1974 Jackson-Vanik Amendment as it applies 
towards Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
    This strikes me as a really smart idea and a pretty easy 
way for Congress and the Administration to stand together in 
our support for deeper engagement with the region.
    This is an amendment that is a pretty major irritant in our 
bilateral relations. It comes up a lot when you talk to these 
nations. It sort of suggests that we still view Central Asia 
through a Soviet-era lens, but we have failed to repeal the 
amendment as it applies to three of these countries even though 
we have repealed the amendment as it applies to Russia, amongst 
some of the others in the region.
    Can you just explain the rationale for repealing Jackson-
Vanik as it applies to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan?
    Mr. Lu. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
    In Secretary Blinken's trip to Central Asia last week, this 
was raised at each one of the meetings with his counterparts in 
Central Asia. It is a real drain on the sense of trust between 
our countries.
    The Jackson-Vanik, as you know, was originally created to 
put pressure on the Soviet Union to allow the emigration of 
Soviet Jews from the Soviet Union to the United States and to 
Israel.
    It provides four criteria to judge countries on, looking at 
their ability to let people emigrate--to leave the country. 
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have fulfilled those 
criteria for 25 years.
    We completely agree with your statement that at a time when 
we are trying to help them diversify away from Russia that this 
would be a strong signal that we are interested in deepening 
our economic engagement.
    Senator Murphy. Great, and I was glad to hear Senator 
Young's interest in this issue and I look forward to working 
with him and others.
    This strikes me something we could do on a bipartisan basis 
to support the Administration's efforts.
    Secretary Pyatt, I want to--sort of pulling the 
conversation out of the weeds, the problem you described in 
Turkmenistan seems to be a problem without a current solution 
from the United States.
    This is a country rich in natural resources. They are 
selling predominantly to China today and we are not getting the 
benefit of those resources because, as you identified, internal 
conditions--aging infrastructure, a set of rules that investors 
cannot count on.
    The problem is there is not a lot of reason for 
Turkmenistan to change because they have got a very willing 
partner who is willing to pay them what they see as a fair 
price, a partner, in fact, who has invested in sort of keeping 
that country a backwater, a country that does not support the 
rule of law.
    To me, public shaming or small-scale incentives do not seem 
to be the answer here. I have never understood why--this is my 
editorial--why we do not spend more hard dollars on energy 
security, why we spend $700 billion on the military and next to 
nothing on actually helping to connect countries in Central 
Asia to Europe and to the United States, for instance, because 
if we have learned anything in our fight in Ukraine alongside 
the Ukrainians is that you cannot have territorial integrity 
without energy security and that Russia is using Europe's lack 
of energy security in particular, but also our lack of energy 
security as a means to undercut the territorial integrity of 
both Ukraine and Europe.
    How do you--take Turkmenistan, take other countries in the 
region where we want to have a more robust energy relationship. 
We want to help them connect to Europe, but it is corruption, 
old infrastructure, that stands in the way. Do we have the set 
of tools right now to help change that reality or do we need to 
think about a new suite of tools?
    Mr. Pyatt. Thank you, Senator, and let me start my answer 
by noting that I spent yesterday and Monday in Houston at what 
is arguably the world's biggest energy conference, meeting with 
ministers and corporate leaders from around the world, and it 
was really striking to me in that setting how the consensus has 
now emerged on the point I made in my opening statement that 
Russia is off the table.
    This is an enormously important development. The world has 
seen that Russia will not be a reliable energy supplier. 
Vladimir Putin talks a lot about finding new markets in Asia 
for the gas which is no longer going to Europe, but it is 
notable that Gazprom was resorting to coercion with Uzbekistan 
and Kazakhstan just last month, trying to force them to sign up 
to new gas import agreements because he does not have a lot of 
good options.
    A very large volume, perhaps on the order of 140 BCM of 
Russian gas, is going to be shut in, which means that for the 
next few years the world is going to need all the gas that it 
can find elsewhere.
    That is particularly the case for our European allies. I 
had good discussions with my EU counterpart on exactly this 
issue, and one of the places that Europe is looking to is the 
Caspian region and Central Asia.
    The Azeris have made commitments with President von der 
Leyen for a significant increase there, but there are also 
options and the most important one is the one you alluded to, 
Chairman, on Turkmenistan.
    There is infrastructure that would have to be built in 
order to make that diversification of Turkmen gas feasible, but 
there are also American companies and European firms that are 
interested in this.
    I have committed to our engagement in ENR. I know Assistant 
Secretary Lu has been working on the same issues. We very much 
look forward to Foreign Minister Meredov coming to Washington 
before too long where we can continue that conversation.
    I also will say I remember discussing exactly the same 
issue with Foreign Minister Meredov 10 years ago when I was the 
PDAS in Don's bureau, which tells you how embedded some of the 
challenges are.
    The other issue I would flag quickly in this regard is that 
this is one of those areas where we are really trying to do two 
things at the same time. We want to advance fossil energy 
security in order to deal with the fallout of Russia's invasion 
and Putin's weaponization of his oil and gas, but we also want 
to accelerate energy transition, and I think one of the areas 
where we have potential to do a great deal more in Central Asia 
is helping those countries to build out their capacity for 
wind, for solar. I am very excited about the interest I heard 
yesterday from the Kazakh energy minister on small and modular 
reactors.
    USAID has a program in this area called Power Central Asia, 
which is looking at the electricity interconnectors. My bureau, 
ENR, has done work in the area of the regulatory structure for 
grid interconnections.
    I would love to see us doing more in this area. I know, 
having talked to four of the region's energy ministers, that 
there is appetite from the--for the United States to be more 
involved.
    This is where our toolkit like EXIM and DFC and the work 
that Congress has done in this area is so important, but we 
have to keep pushing because, as you noted, Chairman, China has 
sought to expand in this space and, again, Turkmenistan is the 
most dramatic example the way in which China has hardwired 
Turkmen gas production into the PRC's energy supply.
    Senator Murphy. Well, and why I think it is so important 
that you have constructed a process that brings all of these 
countries together is they also have some pretty powerful 
rivers, right. They have got real hydropower capacity, but what 
comes with that is potential conflict with those who are 
downstream and so if you have a better, more functional forum 
to talk together about renewables you can also make some 
progress on hydropower.
    Senator Young.
    Senator Young. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. We will stay on the 
topic of Turkmenistan for a moment.
    Secretary Pyatt, you indicated that the country is plagued 
by internal corruption which inhibits them fully realizing 
their potential as it relates to oil and gas production and, by 
extension, countries like the United States benefiting from 
such production.
    They are also plagued by decrepit and dated infrastructure. 
Let us talk about a distinct potential vulnerability. I would 
like your assessment of Turkmenistan's vulnerability to 
economic coercion from China on account of their reliance, what 
I would characterize based on all that I know about this topic 
is, perhaps, an over reliance on China's market for their oil 
and gas products.
    Mr. Pyatt. Senator, I would characterize Turkmenistan as 
vulnerable to malign influence from both Russia and China.
    Turkmenistan was one of the poorest regions of the Soviet 
Union and saw tremendous environmental degradation because of 
the way that the Soviet Union approached the exploitation of 
Turkmenistan's oil and gas resources.
    I think in the case of China as well Turkmenistan by 
definition has tied itself very closely to China through the 
dependence on gas, which is the major source of the Turkmen 
budget, 75 percent of which is going to China.
    That, again, is why it would be quite healthy to have 
American companies that are interested involved there and I 
would just point right next door to Kazakhstan and the very 
constructive role that ExxonMobil and Chevron have played in 
helping to modernize the Kazakh energy system.
    I would also emphasize that for those two American 
companies, Kazakhstan is a very important part of their global 
production chain and they are companies that have been there 
for more than two decades now and are committed to further grow 
that investment, bringing with them the package of values and 
business practices that we adhere to as Americans.
    Senator Young. In addition to some of the lines of effort 
that Senator Murphy teased out of his conversation with you, I 
would suggest that any instruments that we can provide our 
Administration with to assist countries in dealing with these 
coercive or malign economic activities on the part of China or 
Russia in the future would be a positive thing and Senator 
Coons and I have offered some legislation--it is been well 
received so far--that would assist countries who are 
experiencing economic coercion through short-term provision of 
aid, reduction of tariffs and nontariff barriers and all manner 
of other measures.
    Other governments are in the process of passing their own 
legislation to assist such countries that have been coerced--
Japan, for example--and the ultimate vision is to weave these 
different lines of effort together. I think that will be a 
subject of conversation at the G-7 in Hiroshima in May.
    I want to ask you about a couple of other topics. Central 
Asia, Mr. Pyatt, has, in addition to being a main source of oil 
and gas for the global economy since the collapse of the Soviet 
Union, we have seen an increased demand for critical minerals 
and the region could have significant potential to be a 
geopolitical hotspot for mineral production.
    We know that China is actively increasing its economic 
clout across the region, including in the mining sector, 
through their Belt and Road Initiative.
    Unfortunately, without some proactive efforts from the U.S. 
working with our allies, China is going to continue to 
strengthen their already strong position in the global critical 
minerals supply chains and markets.
    Secretary Pyatt, in your opinion, what role can Central 
Asia play in the global supply of critical minerals and do you 
believe the region is strategically important with respect to 
great power competition over critical minerals?
    Mr. Pyatt. Thank you for raising the question, Senator, and 
I have spent the past few months going around the world with a 
chart that shows the level of Chinese domination across all the 
key elements of the clean tech supply chain from hydrogen 
electrolyzers to solar cells to battery minerals.
    We need to focus on this issue systematically. The Biden 
administration is doing so domestically through the IRA, but we 
are also working on these issues internationally.
    Central America is a potentially significant partner. Right 
now you have got Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan where China 
dominates those countries' mining sectors. I was discussing 
this issue just yesterday with the Kazakh energy minister and 
noting our strong interest in continuing to develop our 
critical minerals, both extraction and processing relationship, 
with Kazakhstan.
    I am very pleased to report that there is a new agreement 
between USGS and the Kazakh Government to establish a Kazakh 
geographic survey and to perform the baseline that is necessary 
to answer your question because most of the mineral maps of 
Central Asia date back to the Soviet Union, so it is a matter 
of developing new baselines of what the possibility is.
    Then, lastly, I would just like to circle back quickly on 
the issue I mentioned in my statement of uranium, which is so 
important to our collective commitment as the G-7 to decoupling 
from Russian energy supplies and the fact that the United 
States, like many other countries, still has a level of 
dependency on Russia for our nuclear fuel supplies, and 
Kazakhstan is a willing and eager partner with the United 
States in that effort to diversify.
    Senator Young. That strikes me as very encouraging, whether 
it is uranium or other critical minerals that the Kazakh 
Government has agreed to partner with our USGS on conducting 
that survey.
    Have we seen other governments in the region also cooperate 
with USGS and strike similar agreements?
    Mr. Pyatt. Senator, I do not know the answer to that 
question. I suspect the answer is no because we--but I will 
defer to my colleague in SCA whether, Don, you have got 
anything on any other prospects.
    From the United States side what I would flag, Senator, is 
an initiative called the Mineral Security Partnership, a State 
Department program, basically, to create an alternative to 
China.
    We have an agreement among MSP partners to set high ESGs 
and to make clear to countries with resource endowments that 
China is not the only option because that has been an 
overwhelming tendency, for instance, in Africa.
    We have made clear that as the MSP develops and we are 
focused now on the initial project development in the MSP 
framework with our other partners--13 other parties, 13 
countries--that we are willing to expand this exercise out to 
Central Asia as we find interest from the governments.
    Senator Young. Thank you.
    Senator Murphy. Senator Kaine.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you to my colleagues and thank you to 
the witnesses for your service.
    Secretary Lu, I would like to begin with you, if I could. 
Virginia is home to one of the largest Uyghur-American 
communities, proudly so. China has monitored and harassed these 
individuals on U.S. soil for their advocacy, but they have also 
monitored and harassed their family members in China, 
imprisoning some of them, and we are working on a number of 
constituent cases because of this.
    The domestic policy of China toward not only Uyghurs, but 
Kazakhs and Kyrgyz minority groups in China who do endure 
horrific atrocities and human rights abuses is important.
    Talk to us about your engagement regarding the PRC's 
atrocities against ethnic groups.
    Mr. Lu. Senator, my last job before this one was ambassador 
in the Kyrgyz Republic. I engaged every person I could in the 
government about the situation in Xinjiang and was surprised to 
find very little interest in the Kyrgyz Republic about the 
genocide happening there.
    As you have suggested, it is not only Uyghurs. There are 
ethnic Kyrgyz people related to people in the majority in 
Kyrgyzstan and they were not willing to raise their heads or to 
call out what is happening there.
    I think this goes back to Senator Young's views that 
economic coercion really works in this part of the world, that 
the Chinese have loaned so much money to some of these 
governments they are unwilling to be seen as angering Beijing 
even when it comes to emotive issues like the treatment of 
fellow ethnic people very close by into China.
    If I could add one other issue that I think gets very 
little attention. In Kazakhstan, they also have not raised 
publicly human rights abuses in Xinjiang, but they are 
successfully helping ethnic Kazakhs to leave China.
    They are doing this in cooperation with the Chinese 
Government under the rubric of family reunification, but 
thousands of ethnic Kazakhs have been able to leave Xinjiang to 
find lives in Kazakhstan, have been fast tracked to 
citizenship, and provided assistance and housing. I think that 
is something we should celebrate.
    Senator Kaine. I appreciate you mentioning that. I want to 
ask now a question about security assistance.
    The National Guard-State partnership program has been a big 
success. I know many of my colleagues talk about the 
partnerships they have. Virginia seems to have an unlikely 
partnership, as far as I am concerned.
    It has been a successful one with Tajikistan and there has 
been direct military-to-military contacts, training in such 
areas as infantry tactics and combat casualty care.
    Tajik forces will travel to Virginia this summer to 
celebrate the 20th year of this partnership agreement with the 
Virginia National Guard.
    I wonder about security cooperation in the region 
generally. Has the shifting geopolitical landscape in the 
aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine opened up any more 
opportunities for security partnership in the region?
    Mr. Lu. Absolutely is the answer.
    Let me first say our State partnerships are amazing in 
Central Asia, a place that has historically been quite 
sensitive to outside militaries operating. Our State 
partnership programs are just so successful everywhere 
throughout the region.
    In terms of expanding security engagement, what we all know 
is Russia has consumed a lot of defense equipment in Ukraine, 
has gobbled up a lot of its munitions, and is going to find it 
very difficult to resupply its own stockpiles, but certainly to 
export to other countries will be very difficult for a long 
time if it ever is able to restore its position as a defense 
exporter.
    This is critical for countries in Central Asia, all of 
which rely on Russian hardware to defend their borders. Imagine 
if you are one of the frontline states with Afghanistan. 
Suddenly you are worried about getting spare parts for your 
airplanes or bullets for your rifles. This has got them very 
concerned, and so we are talking with them about where they 
might source defense equipment from us, from European partners, 
from South Korea, from Japan, from Israel.
    Senator Kaine. Would they have reticence about 
incorporating us deeper into these partnerships because of the 
first point that you raised, which is the economic coercion 
from China, create some challenges or just the fact that we 
have already had these State partnership programs give us a 
good toehold that we can potentially expand in this time when 
Russia's influences may be a little bit on the decline?
    Mr. Lu. I think China has the advantage in being a 
replacement supplier because of costs.
    Senator Kaine. Yes.
    Mr. Lu. All the other countries I mentioned have an 
advantage because of quality. Everyone has seen how the Russian 
equipment has performed on the battlefield in Ukraine.
    Frankly, the Chinese equipment is derived from Russian 
technology and so everyone wonders whether that will work 
either. There is a real interest in diversification and I think 
this is a perfect opportunity for these countries because the 
Russians know it will be very hard for these countries to be 
supplied from Moscow.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you. I have one more question, Mr. 
Chair. Could I extend?
    Again, for Secretary Lu, I have got a lot of constituents 
in Virginia who have been raising questions about violence 
against protesters in the Karakalpakstan region of Uzbekistan. 
I would like you to share any conversations you had with the 
Uzbek Government about the need for accountability, need for 
due process for defendants standing trial, and other human 
rights concerns.
    Mr. Lu. Thank you, Senator.
    The Secretary did raise the violent protests in 
Karakalpakstan, the need for accountability, both on behalf of 
those who may have committed violence as protesters, but also 
on behalf of the security forces who may have committed 
excesses. As we know, dozens of people were killed in that 
violence.
    What he was told is that there will be accountability. We 
are seeing right now open trials for the protesters. We were 
assured there would be open and transparent trials also for 
police and other security forces, some of whom have already 
been arrested for excesses committed in Karakalpakstan.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Senator Kaine. We will 
do a second round if members have questions and then get you 
guys on your way.
    Let me ask you, Secretary Lu, about Afghanistan. I framed 
in my opening remarks how our policy towards the region is 
transformed by our lack of a need to have access to Afghanistan 
dominate that relationship, but the countries in the region are 
not eager for us to isolate Afghanistan. Obviously, they are 
right now focused on the question of maintaining their own 
stability, ensuring their own security.
    Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have seen missile strikes into 
their sovereign territory, but those same countries are 
recommending that the United States not write off Afghanistan, 
that, in fact, they believe we have to have some functional 
relationship with the Taliban government if we also want to 
have a functional relationship with Central Asia because they 
see their future, whether they like it or not, connected to the 
future of Afghanistan, and if we send Afghanistan down the 
river to perish that has consequences for Central Asia.
    I know this is a very difficult question about how we--if 
we reengage with the Taliban, but what is this--what do our 
Central Asian friends tell us about what they would like to see 
our policy towards Afghanistan be and how our Afghanistan 
policy can help or hinder our relationship with Central Asia?
    Mr. Lu. The Central Asians do not speak with one voice, as 
you may know. Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, both who share 
borders with Afghanistan, are eager for more international 
influence on the Taliban to try to stabilize the situation 
there, to normalize it, to normalize borders and trade and 
security.
    Tajikistan has had a very different view. Tajikistan feels 
incredibly threatened by the Taliban and they believe the 
Taliban to have killed tens of thousands of ethnic Tajiks in 
Afghanistan. They have quite a confrontational perspective on 
this.
    I think two of the governments on the border would like us 
to be engaged with the Taliban. Actually, the Tajiks are 
resistant to that. I think they want to see us helping them to 
reinforce security along their border. That is where they see 
the answer.
    In response we are certainly talking to Central Asians 
about what influence they have on the Taliban, how we can work 
together on issues such as the rights of women and girls, how 
we can work together to talk about the potential for pressuring 
the Taliban to fulfill their commitments to not allow terrorist 
groups from operating in their territory.
    Both Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have had rocket attacks from 
ISIS-K from northern Afghanistan. They are very aware of the 
threat that is posed to their societies.
    Senator Murphy. Finally, Secretary Pyatt, I wanted to sort 
of circle back to this conversation about rare earth minerals 
and sort of ask a version of the same question I asked you 
about Turkmenistan and natural gas.
    You talked about how China dominates that space right now 
and how we, of course, would like to effectuate a policy that 
changes that.
    My question is the same. Do we have currently a suite of 
policies that allow us to make a different offer that is better 
than the Chinese offer? Is, for instance, the DFC a player here 
of consequence?
    It strikes me that we can offer USGS, right. The United 
States Government can do a survey, but we cannot extract. We 
need a private sector partner to extract, and the private 
sector in the United States or Europe looks at these countries 
and says fraught with too much peril.
    Again, on rare earth minerals, what is the way to solve 
that? What is the way to get U.S.- or European-aligned private 
sector companies in to do the extraction?
    Mr. Pyatt. Chairman, that is exactly what we are trying to 
do through the Minerals Security Partnership, which is to bring 
together countries with a resource endowment with countries 
that have the capital and the industries to create, as I always 
put it, a door number two.
    Door number one is China, which has been very good at going 
out to the world hoovering up or bringing it back to China 
where all the processing and value addition happens and then 
selling it to the world.
    We are now trying to break that model. MSP depends on and 
the projects which MSP is developing depends on the resources 
that MSP partners are able to bring to bear.
    In the United States case those resources are provided to 
State and USAID by Congress. EXIM and DFC play a critical role, 
and then we also have what Amos Hochstein is doing with the 
Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, in a 
similar way trying to rack up the infrastructure and commodity 
opportunities where we need to bring the whole toolkit of U.S. 
economic statecraft to bear.
    I think if I had to prioritize, looking at Central Asia 
today I would prioritize it exactly as I did in my statement, 
first, on Kazakhstan, because it is so vast and because there 
is such a clear signal from President Tokayev's administration 
in terms of the desire to deepen ties with the United States 
and because it is a much more developed economy. That is why 
having this initiative from USGS is so welcome and so 
important.
    I have spoken to a lot of mining company CEOs in my new 
role. They all emphasize to me the incredible long lead time 
that it takes. These are sectors where 10 or 15 years is the 
usual period for the first return on investment.
    It is really important that we get moving now if we are 
going to have the resources that we need to power our own 
energy transition, and I am constantly asking industry people 
whether they think that we are going to hit the cliff on copper 
or on cobalt or on lithium. We are all hoping that the market 
does what is necessary and that some of this will come from the 
United States.
    I was just with Secretary Granholm yesterday in Houston and 
she, too, was emphasizing that the United States is not going 
to be able to fulfill these needs even for our domestic 
requirements from mining here in the U.S. We need to build 
these international partnerships setting the highest ESG 
standards.
    Senator Murphy. As you mentioned, that requires the 
partners in this initiative, the United States included, to 
come to the table with capital that is provided to you by 
Congress.
    It strikes me that this issue of critical mineral security 
is not a partisan one. I think there is support on both sides 
of the aisle. Yet, we are hearing murmurs from the House that 
they are going to propose a 40 percent cut to State and USAID.
    There is really not much separation between soft and hard 
power these days, and to rob this Administration of the ability 
to help secure critical minerals overseas seems like an effort 
to cut off our nose to spite our face.
    I will leave it there.
    Senator Young.
    Senator Young. Thank you.
    Seems to me as we think about mineral security and that 
topic we also, of course, would need to consider regulatory 
reform. I do agree with the President's refrain that domestic 
security is national security and economic security.
    Hopefully, we will find some willing partners from the 
Administration on that front. I am not here to ask you about 
that today.
    I do want to ask a question, broadly, about the region. As 
Russian dominance in the region is waning it seems to be viewed 
as an opportunity for others to play a leadership role in the 
region, whether that is Turkey, Iran, India, or others.
    Turkey has formed its own regional C4+1 organization of 
Turkic states. Both Turkey and Iran have exported combat drones 
to the Central Asian region and promised to produce them in 
Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Indian Prime Minister Modi held his 
own virtual C5+1 last year as well.
    Secretary Lu, as we reflect on Secretary Blinken's recent 
visit, what actions are we taking and what can this committee--
this subcommittee--do to help ensure these countries remain in 
a favorable position toward the U.S. and our interests?
    Mr. Lu. Senator Young, when we were in Central Asia last 
week, several of the governments actually thanked us for the 
C5+1 format because so many other countries have now copied the 
format.
    Russians have copied it, the Chinese, South Koreans, 
Japanese, the EU, and we saw just this week a few days after 
Secretary Blinken traveled to the region to have this face-to-
face meeting with five foreign ministers, the Chinese have 
announced they are going to do exactly the same thing.
    They want to have the first ever face-to-face meeting of 
the C5. We see Putin getting on the phone and calling up the 
presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the same two 
presidents Secretary Blinken saw last week.
    I think it is a good sign that other countries are noticing 
our engagement, are nervous about it, and want to compete.
    As you suggest, there are many competitors in Central 
Asia--Turkey, Iran, India, the EU. I, for one, think that the 
best thing the Central Asians can do is take what all of us 
have to offer and take the best deal.
    Where we have seen real problems is when there is not 
competition. I served in the Kyrgyz Republic. For more than a 
decade the Chinese were allowed to give loans to this country 
without any other countries stepping forward and they produced 
terrible outcomes.
    My daughter has asthma thanks to Chinese investment. They 
have a renovated Soviet electricity and heating plant in the 
capital that just belches smoke all winter long, and kids and 
adults end up in the hospital because this is just terrible 
infrastructure investment. That is because no one was there to 
compete.
    Go to Kazakhstan. The U.S. is the number-two investor in 
Kazakhstan. China is number seven. Number one is the 
Netherlands. Actually, investment there works pretty well and 
the Chinese are forced to build quality infrastructure and 
actually abide by normal rules of operation.
    We need to compete and so that is DFC. It is private 
investment. What Congress can do is give us the tools to 
compete.
    Senator Young. Thank you.
    Congress--one thing, if we are less comfortable providing 
resources it seems we are always comfortable sanctioning bad 
actors and sometimes to the detriment of the larger goals we 
are trying to realize.
    I wrestle sometimes with how much we sanction. Russia is a 
great example. Their economy grew. According to the IMF, I 
think it was 2.1, or declined 2.1 percent last year. That is a 
decline. That is a contraction, but not as significant as many 
may have thought they would, and with that in mind--and 
sanctions, of course, have their place--as we continue to 
consider additional sanctions against Russian leaders and 
others, how do we balance our desire to sanction Russia and 
cripple the Russian military machine and the military 
industrial complex without driving these Central Asian 
countries which depend on their relationship with Russia 
towards adversaries?
    Mr. Lu. Senator, that is a great question and I think many 
of our Central Asian partners echo that sense that they want to 
hear from us loud and clear that they are not the targets of 
our sanctions.
    When Secretary Blinken was in the region last week, he said 
loud and clear to the presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and 
the foreign ministers of all five it is not the intention of 
the U.S. Government to target the people of Central Asia. It is 
our intention to target Putin's war machine and we are going to 
work with you to make sure we minimize the impact on your 
economies.
    Some of the best examples of our ability to do that have 
been in the oil sector that Geoff referred to. Ninety percent 
of Kazakh oil transits Russia to get out to world markets. It 
is important to us that that oil reach world markets to 
stabilize the price to get to European and other consumers.
    It was important for us early on right after the invasion 
for us to give a letter of comfort that the CPC pipeline, which 
is built across Russia, is not subject to sanction because that 
is where that oil passes through.
    Also, just today we saw a second bank in Kazakhstan able to 
be given a letter of comfort so it would not be subject to U.S. 
sanctions. It was subject to sanctions initially. These were 
big Russian banks--Alpha Bank and what is now called Bereke 
Bank.
    They have now become Kazakh banks because smart people in 
Kazakhstan realized these banks under U.S. sanction would not 
be able to continue to perform profitably, and this was a 
business opportunity for Kazakh people to take those assets at 
pretty reasonable prices and turn them into assets for Central 
Asia.
    That is the kind of use of the sanctions that we want to 
see and we are working very closely with all five countries to 
try and make sure that is possible.
    Senator Young. If I am looking for a magic recipe to tease 
out of that, robust diplomacy to inform the development and the 
evolution of a particular sanctions regime and then where 
possible provide alternatives to these countries, to the 
existing economic relations they have with a malign actor like 
Russia, is that a pretty good----
    Mr. Lu. Completely agree. Yes.
    Senator Young. Okay. Chairman.
    Senator Murphy. Great.
    Senator Kaine.
    Senator Kaine. Just one more question for you, Secretary 
Pyatt.
    I was reading your written testimony. I arrived after you 
delivered your verbal testimony, but I was intrigued about your 
reference to your October visit in Istanbul with the deputy 
energy ministers from Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, 
and their emphasizing the need to move forward in the renewable 
resources space.
    Talk to me a little bit about the move toward renewable 
resources in the region.
    Mr. Pyatt. No, thank you for raising it, Senator. Let me 
say there is not a week that has gone by in my job where I have 
not thought about your observation during my confirmation 
hearing about the different objectives that we are trying to 
balance in our energy security and energy transition agendas, 
and Central Asia really encapsulates that in so many ways.
    It is a region of significant fossil fuel endowment. It is 
also a region of high vulnerability--the two mountain 
countries, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, acutely vulnerable to the 
effects of climate change, destroying their hydroelectric 
potential with melting glaciers. They are also in the 
geopolitical crosshairs squeezed between Iran, Russia, and 
China.
    Frankly, when I was in Istanbul and had this opportunity, I 
was really pleasantly surprised, coming back to this region 
after 10 years, to hear how strongly focused in particular the 
Uzbeks were on their energy transition and I think it is 
because it is an existential issue for them.
    They wanted to talk to me about how to better access 
resources from the EBRD to finance new grid infrastructure, and 
just like here in the United States the Central Asians have 
huge challenges if they are going to electrify their Soviet-era 
energy systems. They have----
    Senator Kaine. They have been having blackout problems that 
are pretty notable.
    Mr. Pyatt. Exactly. There is a real eagerness for 
engagement there. Those three countries do not have the 
attractiveness that Kazakhstan has in terms of the size and the 
economic opportunity that draws in big American investors.
    There, in particular, the work that we are able to do with 
USAID and DFC and EXIM is critically important, but I think 
what is striking to me is that we do not have to convince any 
of these countries about the criticality of the climate crisis 
because they see it. They are vulnerable to it.
    Many of them agriculture is a significant part of the 
economy and that agriculture is dependent on seasonality and 
melting glaciers and water access.
    I think we have got a real opportunity there, especially in 
the context of the geopolitical moment that both Chairman 
Murphy and Senator Young referred to.
    Russia's stock is falling because of Putin's egregious 
actions in Ukraine and the fear that that has induced that 
Central Asia could be subject to the same kind of revanchist 
appetite.
    China, especially by the smaller countries, is viewed, as 
Don alluded to, as not a terribly good corporate citizen, but 
also very big and very, very hungry.
    We have an opportunity to make a little go a long way. A 
lot of that is what USAID and others do, but I am very proud of 
what ENR is able to do with a very small budget with our 
programming in areas like helping on critical minerals surveys 
and helping to develop grid infrastructure and building the 
software that these countries require to stand on their own.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you very much. I yield back, Mr. 
Chairman.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Senator Kaine.
    Thank you, both of you, for your testimony today. I think 
this has been a very fruitful and helpful discussion.
    Members are going to be allowed to submit questions for the 
record until the close of business on Friday.
    With thanks to the subcommittee and the staff that makes 
this possible, this hearing is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 3:22 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
                              ----------                              


              Additional Material Submitted for the Record


                Responses of Mr. Donald Lu to Questions 
                  Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen

    Question. The Taliban's campaign of repression against Afghan women 
and girls seems to grow more sinister and inhumane every day. 
Meanwhile, Islamic State-affiliated terrorist groups have been 
responsible for multiple missile strikes that have hit Afghanistan's 
Central Asian neighbors.
    How do you assess Central Asian governments' relations with 
Afghanistan since the August 2021 Taliban takeover? Which, if any, of 
the Central Asian governments are engaging the Taliban or in a position 
to influence the situation there? Are any willing to engage the Taliban 
on women's rights?

    Answer. Central Asian governments' relations with Afghanistan since 
the August 2021 Taliban takeover vary, with Uzbekistan being the most 
forward-leaning in its relations with the Taliban and the most likely 
to influence the Taliban. Tajikistan has an adversarial relationship 
with the Taliban. Both countries continue to urge the Taliban to 
recognize the rights and education of Afghan women and girls.

    Question. How has the Taliban takeover impacted the security 
situation in Central Asia? What new threats or challenges exist, and 
how can they be effectively addressed?

    Answer. The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has raised concerns 
among Central Asian states about their security, especially among those 
that share a border with Afghanistan. The United States supports 
improved border security, law enforcement, and counterterrorism efforts 
in the region to help mitigate these threats. We are working with the 
Congress to identify security assistance to help Central Asian partners 
address these security challenges from Afghanistan.

    Question. How do you believe the U.S. Strategy for Central Asia 
should evolve in light of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the 
war in Ukraine?

    Answer. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the war in Ukraine 
have caused Central Asian states to reevaluate their existing security 
and economic relationships with Russia. They seek greater cooperation 
with each other and with the United States to increase their security 
and prosperity and reduce their dependence on Russia. The U.S. Strategy 
for Central Asia will continue efforts bilaterally and in the C5+1 
regional forum to advance our Central Asia objectives and to support 
the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of these 
states.

    Question. How do you assess the current state of U.S. investment in 
the region? What factors could make U.S. investment more attractive to 
Central Asian countries than working with China?

    Answer. While there is promising investment in the region from U.S. 
companies, and in some countries a long history of significant 
investment, there is room for improvement. We are distinguished from 
China in our commitment to market-based principles and helping states 
improve their business climate to attract U.S. and international 
investment. I believe Central Asian countries recognize that Chinese 
investment often comes with significant downsides, such as corruption, 
shoddy construction, overreliance on imported labor, lax environmental 
standards, and burdensome debt.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt to Questions 
                  Submitted by Senator Jeanne Shaheen

    Question. Two weeks ago, Senator Durbin and I traveled to Georgia 
and Romania, two Black Sea countries with considerable potential to 
support Europe's energy diversification efforts. One of the 
consequences of Russia's failing gambit in Ukraine, in part due to U.S. 
and international sanctions, is that Russia's traditional trade 
partners--including Black Sea countries and the Caucasus--are actively 
exploring alternative transit routes and new infrastructure projects to 
diversify their energy sources. This is why I am reintroducing my 
legislation to ensure that the Administration develop a robust, 
interagency strategy toward the Black Sea that not only considers the 
security challenges in the region, but also the opportunities to 
increase economic connectivity in the region.
    Now, Georgia, Romania, Azerbaijan and Hungary have pledged 
agreement to construct the world's longest and deepest undersea power 
and fiber optic line that will allow electricity produced in 
Azerbaijan, Georgia and other countries to be delivered directly to the 
European market, advancing climate goals and reducing reliance on 
Russia as a source of energy imports. Does, or can, the United States 
play a role to support this project?

    Answer. The United States supports the Memorandum of Understanding 
(MOU) signed in December 2022 between Georgia, Azerbaijan, Romania, and 
Hungary. This MOU can lead to a more connected South Caucasus and 
European Union with decreased reliance on the Russian Federation for 
energy. We await the results of the ongoing World Bank feasibility 
study for the submarine cable. The United States is committed to 
working with our partners on efforts to increase electricity exports to 
Europe, advance our climate goals, and further reduce reliance on 
Russian energy.

    Question. What are the prospects for expanding oil and gas trade 
across the Caspian Sea, via the Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline or other 
potential projects? How realistic is establishing natural gas supplies 
from Central Asia to Europe?

    Answer. Linking natural gas supplies from Central Asia to Europe 
diversifies Central Asian export routes and improves European energy 
security. The United States has encouraged developing a Trans-Caspian 
Gas Pipeline since 1995. Turkmenistan has built an overland pipeline to 
bring natural gas across its territory to the Caspian Sea. A 
Transcaspian pipeline would bring Turkmenistan natural gas onward to 
Azerbaijan and Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor. In addition to 
technical and financial challenges, the prospects for a Trans-Caspian 
pipeline hinge on Turkmenistan's political will and a strong demand 
signal from Europe.

    Question. In recent years, a number of countries in the region, 
particularly Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have sought to diversify their 
economies away from commodities and to promote renewable energy 
development. How extensive have these efforts been? To what extent have 
they been successful? How can the United States support these efforts?

    Answer. Uzbekistan has embraced the need for renewable energy. It 
is a member of the Global Methane Pledge and has established a policy 
to generate 25 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2030. 
Kazakhstan is positioned to lead the way on clean energy transition, 
but the fossil fuel sector retains a sizeable price advantage in power 
generation, hindering the development of renewables. The United States, 
through USAID, is providing technical assistance for Kazakhstan's 
national market liberalization reform, clean energy development, and 
the establishment of a reliable Central Asia Regional Electricity 
Market to help the electrical grid handle increased renewable energy.

    Question. The war in Ukraine has brought increased interest in the 
Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, also known as the Middle 
Corridor, which aims to connect rail freight transport networks in 
China and the European Union via Central Asia, the Caucasus, and 
Turkey, bypassing Russia.
    Should the United States promote the development of the Middle 
Corridor and, if so, how?

    Answer. The development of the Middle Corridor is consistent with 
the broader U.S. objective of diversifying export routes in Central 
Asia. The Department of State regularly meets with the Government of 
Kazakhstan to explore potential strategies for diversifying exit routes 
for crude oil via the Middle Corridor, including through the newly-
revitalized U.S.-Kazakhstan Strategic Energy Dialogue. As a result of 
these meetings and engagement, State-owned energy companies from 
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan recently signed a commercial agreement to 
ship 1.5 million tons of oil per year via the Caspian and Azerbaijan to 
global markets on the Mediterranean.
                                 ______
                                 

             Responses of Mr. Geoffrey Pyatt to Questions 
                    Submitted by Senator Cory Booker

    Question. In June 2022, the United States and 12 countries 
established the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) to coordinate their 
use of export or development finance to help develop critical mineral 
mine or processing projects abroad. The MSP is open to any country, but 
so far it only includes key industrialized partners such as Australia, 
Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. On February 6, 
Under Secretary Jose Fernandez touted MSP at the Mining Indaba 
Conference in South Africa while MSP partners engaged African countries 
at a vice-ministerial meeting, according to a State Department media 
note.
    How were Under Secretary Fernandez's remarks at Indaba received? 
How did African participants react to MSP's Statement of Principles for 
environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards? What is the 
MSP's due diligence standard?

    Answer. Both African officials and Minerals Security Partnership 
(MSP) member officials welcomed the emphasis Under Secretary Fernandez 
placed on high environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards 
and benefits for local communities that are home to mineral resources. 
Our foreign interlocutors recognize that responsible supply chains that 
uplift local communities are more resilient and create greater benefit 
for all involved. Officials shared that they believe the African 
continent has an important role to play in the clean energy transition 
through its mineral resources, but that increased investment will be 
necessary for African countries to fully contribute to and benefit from 
this historic opportunity.
    African officials expressed support for the specific principles in 
the MSP's joint statement on ``Principles for Responsible Critical 
Mineral Supply Chains.'' Officials noted that minerals projects must 
benefit both industry and local communities, including through 
environmental stewardship and local employment and infrastructure 
development. The MSP's principles provide a strong framework to support 
the responsible development of African countries' critical minerals 
industries.
    The MSP does not endorse a single ESG standard or accreditation 
framework to the exclusion of others. MSP projects receiving financing 
from government agencies will be benchmarked against internationally 
applicable ESG standards in accordance with agencies' existing project 
review and due diligence procedures.

    Question. How does the MSP operate in practice? What are some of 
the MSP projects under consideration?

    Answer. To achieve concrete, project-level results, the Minerals 
Security Partnership is sharing information among partners about 
minerals projects and then developing action plans to support the most 
promising projects, including through financing, promoting high 
standards for responsible mining and processing, and engaging project 
operators and governments.
    MSP partners considered over 200 projects in 2022 and winnowed that 
list down. MSP partners are currently assessing the most promising 
projects to identify how we can best support those that will contribute 
to more diverse and secure supply chains and promote the highest 
standards for responsible industry. These projects range from mining to 
processing to recycling and offer a distinct value proposition, based 
on partnership with governments, local citizens, and other 
stakeholders.
    To give one example, two partners are working to develop battery 
materials and attract transparent investment and trade in the Pacific. 
MSP partners are also assembling a public-private consortium to develop 
a state-of-the-art processing facility in Latin America which will help 
form a complete value chain in the region for a mineral crucial to the 
energy transition. If successful, the project will show how 
sustainability and the circular economy can be part of project design 
from day one. In another example, an MSP partner launched a strategy to 
incentivize the growth of battery recycling and create a closed-loop 
supply chain for battery manufacturing; the MSP is also considering 
support for a recycling plant for end-of-life lithium-ion EV batteries 
in that country.

    Question. What role can Congress play in supporting implementation 
of the MSP?

    Answer. It will be critical for the Executive Branch and Congress 
to work together to develop a response to the challenge of building 
resilient, diverse, and secure critical mineral supply chains and to 
resource that response appropriately. To that end, the President's 
Budget for Fiscal Year 2024 requests additional staffing resources for 
the Bureau of Energy Resources to address critical minerals policy, 
additional assistance funds to secure resilient and transparent mineral 
supply chains for the clean energy transition, and a new Department of 
State and USAID critical minerals initiative.
    Other countries' willingness and ability to finance upstream and 
midstream critical minerals projects domestically and abroad have 
contributed to the structure of supply chains we see today--a structure 
that will leave the United States vulnerable as the demand for clean 
energy technologies increases. The United States' ability to support 
strategic critical minerals projects in a meaningful, agile way could 
determine whether these supply chains evolve to meet the growing needs 
of the U.S. economy and U.S. national security.
    Currently, many private sector lenders perceive these projects as 
too novel or too risky, so public support is needed to encourage more 
private investment. By way of example, Japan recently allocated 
additional financial support for investments in critical minerals by 
Japanese companies, a budget Japan can draw on to support MSP projects. 
By leveraging U.S. private-sector innovation and the United States' 
global partnerships, the Executive Branch and Congress can formulate 
and implement an approach that supports more responsible and better 
diversified critical minerals projects abroad and at home that can 
support the future energy needs of the U.S. economy.

    Question. Certain mineral-rich countries have not joined EITI 
despite the importance of the mining sector to those countries' 
economy. What can the U.S. do to encourage broader participation in 
EITI?

    Answer. The United States plays an active role in encouraging 
increased membership in the Extractive Industries Transparency 
Initiative (EITI), as well as enhanced uptake and implementation of the 
EITI Standard. The U.S. Department of State and USAID are also actively 
working to ensure that the EITI governance Standard addresses critical 
energy minerals.
    Additionally, USAID programming helps countries apply for EITI 
candidacy, launch national and subnational EITI implementation 
processes, facilitate effective multi-stakeholder engagement, and 
ensure implementation of the EITI Standard. Our embassies regularly 
promote the importance of transparency, anti-corruption, and high 
environmental, social, and governance standards in extractive 
industries, which underlines the importance of EITI's mission.

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