KAZAKHSTAN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT TIFA

UNCLAS ASTANA 002727 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN - O'MARA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD EFIN ECON PREL AF KG KZ TI TX UZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT TIFA REF: State 117583 ¶1. (U) Econoff delivered reftel points on September 28 to Damigul Kabiyeva, Head of the WTO accession Department. Kabiyeva stated that she thought this summer's Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council events in Washington were a success and reiterated Kazakhstan's commitment to developing the TIFA framework as a means of facilitating regional economic development. ¶2. (U) Kabiyeva was quite supportive of the idea of holding expert-level preparatory events before next year's plenary session. Such an approach, she stated, would help make the political-level discussions more focused and fruitful. She also suggested the possibility of launching concrete investment projects at future TIFA meetings. ¶3. (U) Kabiyeva reacted favorably to the idea of holding next year's TIFA events in Central Asia, stating that holding them in the region may help attract business participation. She noted that Dushanbe has recently hosted a number of multilateral meetings, adding that Kazakhstani officials go there "with pleasure." Kabiyeva was somewhat less enthusiastic about Asghabat as a possible venue, but said that holding TIFA events there "may help bring Turkmenistan into the fold a little more." She also suggested the possibility of determining meeting locations on a rotating basis (an approach, she noted, used by other regional organizations). This, Kabiyeva said, would give each country a greater stake in the TIFA framework. ¶4. (SBU) Still, Kabiyeva emphasized the importance of a continuing strong role of the U.S. in the TIFA process. Initiatives, she noted, are received better if they come from the United States. Other Central Asian countries, she continued, are wary of the notion of Kazakhstan's "regional leadership." MILAS