[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 16]
[House]
[Pages 21898-21899]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THANKING THE PEOPLE OF KAZAKHSTAN FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE TO AMERICA AND 
                               THE WORLD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Melancon) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, Hurricane Katrina has caused not only 
colossal damage to the economy of Louisiana and the entire gulf coast 
but she has also taken away hundreds of innocent lives and left 
thousands homeless. As the Representative of the Third Congressional 
District of Louisiana, half of which was leveled by this disaster, I 
would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have responded 
to this American calamity. I would especially like to thank the people 
of the Republic of Kazakhstan and their president, Nursultan 
Nazarbayev, for the condolences and readiness to render financial 
assistance to Katrina's victims.
  No one can have too many friends, and that applies to both countries 
and individuals. The history of the United States and Kazakhstan's 
cooperation is a vivid example of a partnership between true friends 
and allies with shared values.

[[Page 21899]]

  Kazakhstan inherited the world's fourth largest nuclear arsenal from 
the Soviet Union but choose not to keep that lethal legacy, which could 
have automatically placed Kazakhstan among the world's nuclear 
superpowers. Instead, the people of Kazakhstan, led by their president, 
chose the path of peaceful development and, together with the United 
States, dismantled these weapons of mass destruction. That was a worthy 
move of a strategic partner.
  After the tragic events of September 11, Kazakhstan unhesitatingly 
and unconditionally supported the United States and declared its full 
assistance in the war on terrorism. That was a demonstration of 
sincerity and steadfastness of the people of Kazakhstan.
  As the only country from Central Asia to send its military contingent 
to Iraq, Kazakhstan, despite some wavering among other coalition 
members, has repeatedly stated that it remains committed to its 
obligations and it will keep its military engineers in this unstable 
country as long as it takes. That was a courageous act of a genuine 
ally.
  As we face this colossal tragedy, the Government of Kazakhstan has 
announced its readiness to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and 
this is a noble gesture of a true friend.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republic of Kazakhstan is one of our most reliable 
and strongest allies and a true partner. After only 13 years of its 
existence as an independent state, Kazakhstan has achieved tremendous 
success and economic development in the building of a true democracy.
  President Nazarbayev in his address to Parliament earlier this month 
outlined a very impressive profile of his country's future development. 
He listed concrete goals and objectives on further improvement for the 
social and economic well-being for all Kazakh citizens, as well as 
moves to deepen political and democratic reforms. He proposed expanding 
the role of Parliament, introducing local elections, enhancing the role 
of political parties, introducing jury trials, expanding the role of 
nongovernmental organizations, and strengthening and developing a free 
news media.
  I support the determination of Kazakhstan's leader to develop small 
and medium enterprises and agree with him that the success of political 
and economic programs depends on the creation of a class of private 
property owners who will make up a newly formed middle class.
  As the President has stated, the main goal is to stay the course and 
sustain the pace of transformation. I believe the United States' 
response should be our readiness to assist this process.
  I urge my colleagues and the administration to devote more attention 
to our strategic partnership with Kazakhstan.
  In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I would like to agree with President 
Nazarbayev that we are deeply optimistic about the future of Kazakhstan 
and the future of the United States and Kazakhstan partnership.

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