KAZAKHSTAN: SPECIAL ENVOY CUMBER ENCOURAGES ASTANA TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000083

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL/IRF, IO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL KDEM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: SPECIAL ENVOY CUMBER ENCOURAGES ASTANA TO
TAKE A STRONGER ROLE IN THE OIC


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


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: In a January 9 meeting with U.S. Special Envoy
to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Sada Cumber,
State Secretary Kanat Saudabayev underlined Kazakhstan's commitment
to promoting inter-confessional understanding and expressed hope
that the tradition of strong relations between the United States and
Kazakhstan will continue under the new Administration. SE Cumber
encouraged Kazakhstan to take a stronger role in the Muslim world
and set an example as a moderate Muslim country. In a separate
meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan Yermekbayev, Cumber
proposed that Kazakhstan consider hosting the OIC's triennial summit
of heads-of-state and take the lead in continuing Saudi Arabia's
inter-faith dialogue initiative. Yermekbayev agreed that a slow and
steady push from the moderate countries could change the
"conservative spirit" within the OIC. END SUMMARY.

INTER-CONFESSIONAL ACCORD IS A TOP PRIORITY


3. (SBU) In a January 9 meeting in Astana with U.S. Special Envoy
to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Sada Cumber,
State Secretary Kanat Saudabayev noted that one of President
Nursultan Nazarbayev's "top priorities" is to promote
inter-confessional accord, and argued that this "wise policy" has
allowed Kazakhstan to be the "lucky exception" among post-Soviet
states in avoiding religious conflicts. He thanked the United
States government for its support for Kazakhstan's international
initiatives to promote inter-cultural and inter-confessional
dialogue, including the Common World Forum and the Conference of
World Religious Leaders. Saudabayev explained that Kazakhstan's
growing international role was the decisive factor in its decision
to bid for the 2010 chairmanship of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the 2011 chairmanship of the
OIC. He said that he assigns "great weight" to SE Cumber's visit.
As he put it, "It is obvious that the United States sees us as a
partner."


4. (SBU) SE Cumber responded that Kazakhstan and the United States
share a commitment to supporting personal freedom in the context of
a multi-ethnic state. Saudabayev assured Cumber that Kazakhstan has
"no alternative" to such a policy. Kazakhstan chose the path toward
democracy and a market economy and has made "gradual, but
irreversible" progress since independence. In this time, Kazakhstan
has never had "major disagreements" with the United States, noted
Saudabayev, but there have been times when the two disagreed on the
pace of Kazakhstan's reforms. Perhaps not everybody in the United
States government understands that Kazakhstan is moving as fast as
"circumstances allow," he mused.


5. (SBU) SE Cumber favorably noted Kazakhstan's progress since
independence and explained that the United States sometimes "pushes"
Kazakhstan because it wants it to succeed. He told Saudabayev that
Kazakhstan has solidified its leadership in Central Asia and
expressed the hope that it would do the same in the Muslim world.
"Central Asia is at the core of cosmopolitan Islamic values," he
stressed, and Kazakhstan's upcoming 2011 OIC chairmanship is a
chance to promote moderate Islam and counter the effects of radical
"narrow" Islam. Instead of "investing in theocracy" like Saudi
Arabia and Iran, Kazakhstan has chosen to invest in education and
democratic development, stressed Cumber, and the Muslim world can
learn from Kazakhstan's example.

APPRECIATION FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA'S PHONE CALL


6. (SBU) Saudabayev agreed with SE Cumber that "there is a lack of
closeness and understanding" among Muslim nations and that
organizations like the OIC and the League of Arab States do not
command great respect even among their founders. He praised
President Bush for his "unprecedented" outreach to the Muslim world
and advised the United States to "continue to highlight the examples
of countries where democracy and Islam coexist." He told Cumber
that he was "proud" that President Nazarbayev was one of the first
world leaders to speak by telephone with President-elect Obama and
expressed the hope that the new Administration will "continue our
tradition of good relations." Cumber told Saudabayev that in his
conversations with the Obama transition team, he named Kazakhstan as

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one of the four Muslim-majority countries President Obama should
consider visiting within the first 100 days of taking office.

SECULAR COUNTRIES HAVE DIFFICULTLY BEING HEARD IN OIC


7. (SBU) In a separate meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister Nurlan
Yermekbayev underlined that the government of Kazakhstan greatly
appreciated Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's attendance at the Common
World Forum ministerial meeting in Astana in October 2008. Sharing
his thoughts on the OIC, he said the organization has the potential
to represent the whole spectrum of Islamic diversity, but he
lamented that "secular countries have a hard time being heard." SE
Cumber responded that moderate Muslim countries, like Kazakhstan,
should take on a stronger role in the organization. He contended
that the initiative of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on inter-faith
dialogue started off strong but has since lost steam. Cumber
proposed that Kazakhstan take the lead on continuing the effort,
noting that the Vatican seemed quite open to the idea when he raised
it during a recent visit.


8. (SBU) SE Cumber welcomed the fact that Kazakhstan will host the
2011 OIC ministerial and encouraged Yermekbayev to think about
hosting the triennial summit of OIC heads-of-state. Noting that the
summit occurs once every three years and that the hosts for the next
two summits have already been determined, he said that Kazakhstan
"would have plenty of time" to prepare. Cumber suggested that
Kazakhstan concentrate on two important issues: how to bring the
Muslim world together, and how to encourage the "silent moderates"
within the OIC. Yermekbayev welcomed Cumber's suggestions and said
he would take them under serious consideration. He said that a
slow, but steady, push from the moderates could "change the
conservative spirit" within the OIC.

HOAGLAND