Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ASTANA2252
2008-11-14 07:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Astana
Cable title:  

KAZAKHSTAN: ATYRAU AKIM EAGER FOR UNBIASED NEWS, ANXIOUS

Tags:  PGOV PREL ECON EPET EINV SOCI KPAO KZ 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002252 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/ESC, SCA/PPD, IIP
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EPET EINV SOCI KPAO KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ATYRAU AKIM EAGER FOR UNBIASED NEWS, ANXIOUS
ABOUT FINANCIAL CRISIS

ASTANA 00002252 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002252

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/ESC, SCA/PPD, IIP
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTDA DAN STEIN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EPET EINV SOCI KPAO KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: ATYRAU AKIM EAGER FOR UNBIASED NEWS, ANXIOUS
ABOUT FINANCIAL CRISIS

ASTANA 00002252 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: On November 11, the Ambassador held his first
meeting with Atyrau oblast governor (Akim) Bergey Ryskaliyev, a
41-year old former oil company director appointed in October 2006.
Ryskaliyev greeted the Ambassador warmly and welcomed him to the
"strategically important" city of Atyrau, the capital of
Kazakhstan's oil-rich north Caspian region. He spoke Russian slowly
and softly throughout the meeting, choosing his words with
deliberate care and demonstrated both curiosity and currency with
events in the United States, especially the Presidential election
and the financial crisis. Ryskaliyev shared his vision for the
future of Kazakhstan with the Ambassador and pleaded for more
objective information about the United States than that coming from
Russian television. Before leaving Atyrau, the Ambassador visited a
vocational school for orphans supported by a local civil society
organization, Tengizchevroil (TCO),and Chevron. END SUMMARY.

AKIM WELCOMES U.S. INVESTMENT, ACKNOWLEDGES OUTSTANDING ISSUES


3. (SBU) Ryskaliyev said the oblast appreciates the investment of
U.S. oil companies Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips, but
noted that he would like to see U.S. investment in other sectors
such as agriculture, construction, and fishing. He praised TCO, in
which Chevron (50%) and ExxonMobil (25%) have large stakes, for its
investment in social infrastructure and development projects. "Of
course," he said, "we have issues with TCO and other companies from
time to time, but we work with them directly and resolve our
problems at the local level." Rather than reviewing these issues in
detail during their first meeting, the Ambassador broadened the
discussion and encouraged the Akim to come to him if the local
government had an unresolvable issue with a U.S. company. This (for

the first and only time during the meeting) seemed to make an
impression on Ryskaliyev, who took out his pen to make a note of the
offer.

THE AKIM'S VISION FOR KAZAKHSTAN


4. (SBU) When asked to describe his vision for Kazakhstan over the
next ten years, the Akim struggled slightly, searching for
statistics and specifics, until he confessed that the current crisis
made it difficult to deliver a prognosis. Ryskaliyev said that he
would rather wait a year before making predictions, although he
suggested that the region's oil and gas wealth would shelter it
somewhat from the storm. The Ambassador gently pressed the point,
asking the Akim what kind of country would he like Kazakhstan to
become and how could the United States help Kazakhstan get there.
Ryskaliyev relaxed and opened up, saying he shared President
Nazarbayev's goal to make Kazakhstan one of the 50 most competitive
countries in the world, as well as his pledge to implement
democratic reforms and demonstrate broader leadership when it
assumes the Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010. Ryskaliyev also
praised the government's Bolashak ("future" in Kazakh) student
exchange program, noting that Atyrau oblast has agreed with resident
oil companies to sponsor 20-25 exchange students to the U.S. in

2009. "This program trains Kazakhstan's future leaders," he said.

"THE DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM WORKS"


5. (SBU) Ryskaliyev warmly congratulated the Ambassador on the
election of a new U.S. president, commenting that the process was
transparent and fair -- and the result, historic. "It shows that
anyone, regardless of personal wealth or skin color, can become
President in the United States," he observed. "It proves that the
democratic system works." Ryskaliyev nevertheless revealed a
cynical side when he wondered if, with so many difficult economic
and military challenges now facing the country, the President-elect
was deliberately set up to fail so that no other African-American
would be elected President in the future. Ryskaliyev asked whether

ASTANA 00002252 002.2 OF 002


and how U.S. policy toward Europe and Russia was likely to change
under the new administration, then closed on an upbeat note, saying
that President-elect Obama appeared to have the right outlook and
energy for the job. "Personality matters a great deal," he said.

A PLEA FOR OBJECTIVE NEWS ABOUT THE UNITED STATES


6. (SBU) Ryskaliyev clearly followed the presidential election
campaign closely. When asked where he got most of his information
about the United States, Ryskaliyev said Russian TV, Euronews (which
broadcasts in Russian),and the BBC (which broadcasts in English),
although he admitted that he watches BBC rarely because his English
is poor, despite the fact that his entire family speaks English and
one of his children studies at Cambridge University. Ryskaliyev
then surprised us by saying that he wishes there were more objective
reporting about the United States than that coming from Russia.
"Ninety-five percent of people here believe what they see and hear
on the television," he said, virtually pleading for an alternative
news source. "The younger generation of political leaders is
particularly eager for information about the United States that does
not come from Russia," he said.

SERIOUS CONCERN ABOUT THE FINANCIAL CRISIS


7. (SBU) The financial crisis is of serious concern to Ryskaliyev
and his administration. "This crisis really worries us," he said,
noting that although the United States is far from Kazakhstan, there
are bound to be implications for his country if not his region. The
Ambassador reassured the Akim, noting that both TCO and AgipKCO,
which manages the Kashagan consortium, had reassured him that they
and their partners had sufficient capital on hand to meet all of
their commitments, and they did not expect the crisis to impact
either project.

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL VISIT


8. (SBU) While in Atyrau, the Ambassador also toured a vocational
school for orphaned and abandoned children established by a local
non-governmental organization called Young Achievement. TCO and
Chevron have provided financial support since 2007. The program
provides after-school vocational training to both boys and girls age
14-18 in skills such as electrical wiring, bricklaying, welding, and
crane operating. The students were predominantly Kazakh, although a
significant minority were ethnic Russians. Young Achievement
Director Nataliya Strunyasheva, herself an ethnic Russian, noted
that Kazakhstan suffers from a shortage of skilled labor, which this
program will help to address. More importantly, she said, it gives
children with no hope Qa sad fate the opportunity to acquire a
lifelong skill that giveQhem thQeans and the confidence to build
a better life. "TCO's support and initiative have been priceless,"
she said. According to TCO, the company has provided more than $380
million to various social, health, and infrastructure projects in
Kazakhstan during the past 15 years.


9. (SBU) COMMENT: Atyrau Akim Ryskaliyev clearly follows political
and economic events in the United States carefully and is a young
and influential leader. We should listen carefully to his lament
that there are few objective, Russian-language sources of
information about the United States and take seriously his claim
that other young leaders are eager for such information. CNN or BBC
broadcasts in Russian could conceivably have a major impact on the
development of Kazakhstan's future leaders. At a bare minimum, we
need to expand drastically the Russian-language Washington File.
END COMMENT.

HOAGLAND