[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E273-E274]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   FAREWELL TO AMBASSADOR KAZYKHANOV

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 18, 2021

  Mr. CHABOT. Madam Speaker, as co-chair of the U.S.-Kazakhstan Caucus, 
I rise today to bid farewell to Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhanov, who will 
be departing the United States at the end of this month and has 
faithfully served as Kazakhstan's Ambassador to the United States 
during the past four years. He will be greatly missed by myself and all 
who have had the pleasure of working with him. He has consistently 
shown a great sense of enthusiasm for the job as well as a deep 
appreciation for the importance of the U.S.- Kazakhstan bilateral 
relationship.
  Ambassador Kazykhanov is a career diplomat who began his career in 
the Foreign Ministry's Protocol-Political Division. He was Chief of the 
Division before being assigned his first international posting as first 
secretary/counselor at Kazakhstan's Permanent Mission to the United 
Nations in New York City, from 1995 to 2000. He then returned home to 
Kazakhstan to serve as the Director of the Department of Multilateral 
Cooperation from 2000 to 2003. Following that posting, he returned to 
New York City as Kazakhstan's Permanent Representative to the United 
Nations and as non-resident Ambassador to Cuba from 2003 to 2007.
  Kazykhanov was then named Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and 
served as assistant to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 
late 2008, he was posted to Austria to serve as Ambassador to Austria 
and Permanent Representative to international organizations located in 
Vienna, such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United 
Nations Industrial Development Organization. He held that position 
through 2011 before returning to Kazakhstan to eventually become 
Minister of Foreign Affairs and an Assistant to the President.
  Beginning in 2014, he served as Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and 
then presented his credentials as Ambassador to the United States in 
2017. During his tenure in Washington, D.C. he has focused a great deal 
of time on expanding economic cooperation between Kazakhstan and the 
United States. He has travelled throughout the country meeting with 
multiple American companies to highlight opportunities for well-known 
U.S. brands and entities to establish operations in Kazakhstan as a 
gateway for new or expanded access to Central Asian markets.
  Ambassador Kazykhanov has also played a crucial role in elevating the 
bilateral relationship between the United States and

[[Page E274]]

Kazakhstan. This commitment to a continued cooperation across multiple 
platforms was cemented in the 2018 document, ``United States and 
Kazakhstan: An Enhanced Strategic Partnership for the 21st Century,'' 
which outlines the goals and priorities of the bilateral agenda and 
sets a long-term vision to support future cooperation.
  Ambassador Kazykhanov holds a bachelor's degree in Oriental Studies 
from Saint Petersburg State University and a Ph.D. in History from Al-
Farabi Kazakh National University. He has authored many articles 
focused on Kazakhstan's foreign policy, economic diplomacy, and 
multilateralism, among other topics. He speaks Russian, English and 
Arabic, and has received numerous awards and recognitions for his years 
of service.
  Both he and his wife, Danara, who have two children, will be greatly 
missed by the Washington diplomatic corps and by all who know them in 
Washington, D.C. Along with my fellow Caucus co-chairs, we wish them 
both the greatest success and happiness as they return to Nur-Sultan. 
And as the Ambassador prepares for his new role as a senior advisor to 
the President, we hope that he will continue to emphasize the 
importance of the bilateral relationship between the United States and 
Kazakhstan.

                          ____________________