4 Oct. 2006

Kazakh Foreign Minister visits NATO News 3/10/06 - NATO Visit to NATO of Mr. Kassymzhomart Tokayev, Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan on Wednesday, 4 October 2006 Opinion Transcript of the opening statements at the Council Multimedia Audio file (MP3/2730kb) Video file (wmv/4681kb) Background Individual Partnership Action Plans (IPAPs) The Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Kassymzhomart Tokayev, visited NATO HQ on 4 October, for talks on the implementation of his country’s Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO. Mr. Tokayev met with the NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and addressed the North Atlantic Council, the Alliance’s principal decision-making body. “Central Asia is an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic area and a strategically important region,” said the NATO Secretary General during the meeting, “We face common challenges such as terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional and ethnic conflicts.” The Secretary General said Kazakhstan was an important partner, and expressed support for the democratisation process in the country, which was “a key prerequisite for ensuring long-term stability and prosperity”. In January this year, Kazakhstan became the first Central Asian country to sign an Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO. Developed on a two-year basis, the plan is designed to bring together all the various cooperation mechanisms through which a partner country interacts with the Alliance, sharpening the focus of activities to better support its domestic reform efforts. In 2004, at the Istanbul Summit, NATO agreed to enhance cooperation with countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus.