To supply troops in landlocked Afghanistan, the United States is relying on short-term relationships with dictatorial nations in Central Asia without factoring any long-term strategy for the region, according to testimony delivered last week to senators.
Kazakhstan has a unique problem. It's long on land and short on the people to farm it. The Central Asian country is huge -- about six times the size of France -- but has less than one-quarter of France's population -- just 16 million people. Although Kazakhstan's desert and mountainous regions are not arable, its ample steppe land is, and enough of the Kazakh population turns to farming it to make the country one of the world's leading grain producers.
Kazakhstan has a unique problem. It's long on land and short on the people to farm it.
Another anniversary of Kazakhstani independency is a reason to look back on the distance covered. In some ways it appeared to be extensively hard, and in another a blind Fortune hugged the republic so strong, that blindness had passed to it. Nevertheless, never ending despite various challenges, but country is continuing its way, choosing the most adequate and optimal routes.
The United States urged Kazakhstan on Monday to use its chairmanship of Europe's main rights and security watchdog to improve its own record.
Kazakhstan aims to use its presidency of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to press for a resolution to the conflict in Afghanistan, the country's foreign minister said.
The Adil Soz freedom of speech foundation has said it hopes the situation with freedom of speech in Kazakhstan will improve after the country takes over the OSCE chairmanship next year.
An American task force funded by the government of Kazakhstan to prepare a series of reports about the Central Asian country's upcoming OSCE chairmanship has completed its final report, which puts forth a generally positive interpretation of the country's controversial human rights record.
