[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 44 (Monday, March 21, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WELCOMING PRESIDENT NAZARBAYEV TO WASHINGTON, DC

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 21, 2016

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome the President of 
the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, to Washington, DC for 
the Nuclear Security Summit. I have been a supporter of Kazakhstan for 
many years now, not only in regards to their admirable work in the area 
of nuclear non-proliferation, but also in advocating for their 
opportunity to Chair the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 
Europe (OSCE)--a position the country attained and served ably in 2010. 
There are of course myriad reasons to celebrate the strong relationship 
between the United States and Kazakhstan, but certainly we would all 
agree that Kazakhstan's work to rid our world of nuclear weapons, and 
its work to develop safe nuclear power, are foremost among them.
  Countries like the United States and Kazakhstan come together at 
Nuclear Security Summits to work toward securing vulnerable nuclear 
materials, countering nuclear smuggling and thwarting attempts at 
nuclear terrorism. This is a mission in which Kazakhstan has been a 
welcomed world leader. Indeed, just four short years after achieving 
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan had destroyed 
all of their nuclear weapons and joined the Nuclear Non-Proliferation 
Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state. By the year 2000, it had 
destroyed its nuclear testing infrastructure at Semipalatinsk. Not only 
has Kazakhstan, under President Nazarbayev's strong leadership, taken 
the lead in eliminating nuclear weapons, it has also worked tirelessly 
to create a system in which nuclear energy may be used in a safe, 
secure and peaceful manner. This was most recently witnessed in 
Kazakhstan's willingness to host the International Atomic Energy 
Agency's low-enriched uranium fuel bank.
  Mr. Speaker, there is no question that our continuing friendship with 
Kazakhstan is of the utmost importance. President Nazarbayev and the 
people of Kazakhstan made a principled decision years ago to lead the 
effort in ridding the world of nuclear weapons. This effort deserves 
the unqualified praise and support of not only the United States, but 
the entire international community. Again, I welcome President 
Nazarbayev to Washington, DC for the Fourth Nuclear Security Summit and 
wish all involved great success as they work to make our world a safer 
place for future generations around the world.

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