KAZAKHSTAN: MFA ADVISOR DISCUSSES SHANGHAI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002819

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

SCA/CEN FOR M. O'MARA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: MFA ADVISOR DISCUSSES SHANGHAI
COOPERATION ORGANIZATION


1. (SBU) Summary: In a discussion with Poloff, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Advisor for the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) Yerlan Shamishev stated that the SCO has a
broad mandate and serves an important purpose because it
solidifies links between Central Asian member states and
Russia and China. He admitted, however, that the SCO's
concrete accomplishments are few. The SCO is interested in
Afghanistan, he said, but has yet to turn interest into
action. Kazakhstan is not interested in a more developed
role in the SCO for Iran. End Summary.

2, (SBU) On October 8, Poloff met with Yerlan Shamishev,
Ministry Foreign Affairs Advisor for the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO),to discuss Kazakhstan's view of the SCO.
When asked to describe the aims of the SCO, Shamishev
responded that the SCO has a broad mandate. Security
cooperation has been the most successful component of the
SCO, he said, but fostering further economic cooperation is
now an increasingly important goal for the SCO. Humanitarian
cooperation is also an element. The SCO does not wish to be
confrontational, he added.


3. (SBU) Poloff asked Shamishev to describe major
accomplishments of the SCO. Shamishev answered that the
greatest accomplishment of the SCO has been to "uphold a
spirit of political unity" and to build trust between the
four Central Asian member states and China and Russia. He
confessed, however, that on "concrete outputs" it is "hard to
find good success stories."


4. (SBU) Shamishev also admitted that trying to strengthen
economic cooperation through the SCO has proven difficult.
Uzbekistan is reluctant to open its borders and has not been
particularly cooperative, he said. Generally, according to
Shamishev, Uzbekistan is comfortable discussing security
issues and is disinclined to address other issues.
Kyrgyzstan and Tadjikstan, in contrast, are more willing to
cooperate economically but have less potential for
investment.


5. (SBU) Poloff asked if Kazakhstan has any concerns of a
possible power disbalance in the SCO. Shamishev responded
that to some extent two groups have developed in the SCO,
with one group comprised of Kazakhstan, China, and Russia
because of their size and relative economic might. He noted
that these three countries are also the big contributors to
SCO, with Russia and China each paying 24% and Kazakhstan
21%. Nevertheless, he insisted that the bigger countries are
not in a position to dominate the smaller ones, because each
country has a veto.


6. (SBU) Turning to Iran, Shamishev said that Kazakhstan
will not seek to increase its cooperation with Iran through
the SCO. Iran's nuclear ambitions, he stated, make it very
difficult to implement programs and undermine endeavors to
develop cooperation on issues like an energy pipeline. "We
don't want to escalate the situation between Iran and the
international community," said Shamishev.


7. (SBU) Shamishev said that achieving peace and stability in
Afghanistan is a goal for the SCO. A SCO - Afghanistan
contact group exists, focused on confidence-building
measures. "All is on paper at this point," he said, "nothing
concrete has yet been achieved." Kazakhstan has achieved
more progress with Afghanistan bilaterally than through the
SCO, he remarked. He also underlined that Kazakhstan
understands that any negative spillover from Afghanistan into
Uzbekistan and Tadjikstan will also effect Kazakhstan.


8. (SBU) Poloff asked Shamishev whether Kazakhstan has been
able to use the SCO as a venue to discuss pressing problems
of water use in the region. Shamishev answered that
Kazakhstan has tried to raise the issue, but without success
because of opposition from China and Uzbekistan.


9. (SBU) Comment: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has
thus far proven to be more of a talking-shop than an
action-driven organization. Nevertheless, the role of the SCO
in the region should not be downplayed. The SCO provides
another opportunity for regional leaders with similar
mindsets on many issues to forge personal links (Presidents
Putin and Nazarbayev have met more than fifteen times in the

ASTANA 00002819 002 OF 002


last two years) and to reinforce their shared thinking. End
Summary
MILAS