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U.S. Policy Toward the Central Asian States

Remarks by Ambassador James Collins, Office of the Special Advisor to the Secretary for the New Independent States, at the inauguration of the Central Asia Institute, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC, October 21, 1996

Introduction

I want to thank Paul Wolfowitz and Fred Starr for including me on the occasion of the opening of the Central Asia Institute. Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott very much regrets he could not join you and asked me to convey his very best wishes to all of you as you open the new Institute, which he and we believe will be doing very important work.

My first message today is that all of us in the Government's foreign policy community unreservedly and enthusiastically welcome the founding of this Institute. It will bring needed new emphasis and focus in the scholarly and policy community to issues of a region in which the United States has important and growing interests.

The five states of Central Asia present special challenges and paradoxes. While possessing great natural resources, they ranked among the poorest and least-developed of the former Soviet republics at the time of independence. Despite its Silk Road heritage and position at an historic crossroad of European and Asian civilizations, the region was the most isolated in the USSR at the time that empire broke apart. Proud founders of great Islamic centers of faith and scholarship whose ranks included the great physician and philosopher Avicenna and the astronomer Ulu Beg, the Central Asians are today challenged to define anew the relationship between religion and the state after more than 70 years of enforced atheism.

In engaging these new nations, America's challenge has been to promote modern, tolerant states and societies which can work productively with us in support of shared interests. We have defined the following U.S. objectives in the New Independent States (NIS) which we have tailored to meet the specific needs of the rich and complex region of Central Asia:

-- Support for the independence, sovereignty and security of each of the Central Asian States;

-- Assistance in the establishment of free-market economies and democratic governments committed to equal opportunity and human rights for their citizens;

-- Integration of these states into the world community of political and financial institutions, as well as their participation in the Euro-Atlantic security dialogue and cooperative programs;

-- Encouragement of these states to pursue peaceful relations among themselves and with their neighbors, to seek new avenues for regional cooperation and to resolve local conflicts with international mediation;

-- Prevention of any trafficking in weapons of mass destruction or their elements across this region or its borders. The departure of the last nuclear warhead from Kazakstan in 1995 was a significant achievement in support of non-proliferation. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Government of Kazakstan for their removal. Similarly, we will cooperate on other transnational threats of terrorism, narcotics and environmental degradation;

-- Enhancement of U.S. commercial interests and the expansion and diversification of global energy supplies.

This agenda is complex and demanding; but my second message is that we are making progress throughout Central Asia in advancing it.

It is worth recalling that at independence, there were many who doubted whether these new states would survive. Skeptics pointed to the lack of a national tradition in Central Asia and noted the absence of defined national independence movements in this area. Yet I think today we are struck by the progress that has been made in just five years.

Integration Into International Organizations

One of our earliest goals was to assist the introduction of these states into the international community. We were among the first to recognize them, to establish embassies in each of the Central Asian nations and to engage their governments as sovereign members of the international community. Today, there has been significant progress across the area. All except Tajikistan are active participants in NATO's Partnership for Peace. All are members of the OSCE which has opened a regional office in Tashkent. All are exploring membership in the World Trade Organization, and several are well on their way to completing the process. They all welcome foreign trade and investment. They are responsible and moderate players in the international arena.

Regional Cooperation

There are encouraging signs of increasing regional cooperation. Kazakstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for example, in addition to developing a regular trilateral dialogue and some common financial institutions, have formed a joint peace-keeping battalion which participated together for the first time in August in a U.S. Partnership for Peace exercise. Regional cooperation will also be essential in tackling the enormous environmental problems in the area, especially the management of water resources, whose past misuse led to the Aral Sea catastrophe. The U.S. was the first foreign donor to provide assistance in this area with our Aral Sea Initiative. We continue to encourage regional cooperation on the environment. In line with Secretary Christopher's determination to enhance our diplomatic focus on environmental issues, we plan to establish a new State Department regional environmental office in our Embassy in Tashkent that will serve the area. We have also taken a regional approach to economic development.

The Central Asian American Enterprise Fund got off to the fastest start of any of the comparable investment funds and has a significant contribution as an effective instrument in promoting economic change. We feel strongly that regional cooperation on topics of common concern such as the environment can foster ties which will extend to other areas as well. Such cooperation can help lessen tensions in the region and will help to reduce the potential for conflict.

Regional Conflict

Much of the progress that Central Asians have achieved reflects the fact that most of their societies are at peace. Tragically, the Tajiks have been the exception and their situation underscores the need to resolve local conflicts without violence and through political means. Denied that benefit, the Tajiks grapple with a continuing conflict and a fragile cease-fire that has hindered political and economic reform. Unresolved, this conflict will place the very future of the Tajik nation at risk. We continue to support the efforts of the UN to find an equitable, negotiated settlement ensuring a broad-based government essential to a lasting solution. We also support the efforts of institutions such as the OSCE to work within Tajikistan to promote national reconciliation. This process has been tough and painfully slow. While the Tajik parties themselves must find the means to reach the necessary compromises, we also hope that the regional states will redouble their efforts to contribute to a solution.

Democratic and Economic Reform

There are still many obstacles in the quest to create democratic societies in Central Asia. Some positive steps have been taken; the open, multi-candidate presidential elections in Kyrgyzstan is one example. But progress here has been much slower than we would have liked. Institutions and attitudes inherited from the past are still too entrenched in many places.

Some in the region believe that too swift a transformation will simply lead to instability or "Islamic extremism". One continuing point we make is that there is no contradiction between democracy and stability. On the contrary, pluralist, open and tolerant societies are essential for stability and prosperity.

We continue to assist in the area of building democracy. Our assistance programs have emphasized the importance of democratic reform and promoted the growth of non-governmental organizations. Thousands of Central Asian citizens have particpated in U.S. exchange programs -- educators, parliamentarians, lawyers and judges, journalists, and other future leaders.

We have welcomed democratic achievements in the area, such as Kyrgyzstan's election, and we are actively encouraging further steps throughout Central Asia, such as the registration of local NGO's, increased media freedom, and protection of human rights. Central Asian Governments are increasingly receptive to dialogue with us and other states, the OSCE, and international human rights organizations. We need to stay fully engaged with our Central Asian friends on this front.

Economic Reform

On the economic reform side, Central Asian states have made impressive gains. The states have introduced their own currencies and all have central banks and are poised for growth. Tajikistan, plagued by continuing civil conflict, is the obvious exception but even here the government qualified for its first IMF program and a 50 million dollar World Bank loan this year. We have focussed much of our technical assistance on helping these countries develop sound commercial, legal and regulatory systems, but we need to do more to encourage the creation of an investor-friendly climate. This will benefit U.S. business and it will significantly help these countries attract the investment and the capital they need. Central Asia's population base of more than 50 million combined with proper development of its significant resources will make it an important business market for the future.

The independence and economic prospects of Central Asia's states are clearly linked with their ability to expand and develop new markets (as well as other new trade and communications routes west to Europe, east to Asia and south to the Subcontinent). The United States will be an active participant in developing Central Asian markets and promoting the region's economic development.

Energy

We have both a strategic and commercial interest in increasing and diversifying world energy supplies. With the vast resources of the Caspian Basin, Central Asia will be a significant energy producer in the next century. We support rapid Caspian energy devlopment through private investment. Western private investment will be crucial and its importance is increasingly recognized. Western private investment in the development of the Caspian energy resources will require a legal regime that offers a clear delineation of seabed resources by the littoral states and minimal involvement by Iran. The current transport systems are inadequate for moving the growing volume of Caspian Basin oil and gas exports to world markets. We support the development of additional and multiple export routes, including a route through Turkey. We are encouraging regional cooperation on oil transport and development, which will benefit all states in the region. And we are emphasizing that commercial viability and meeting international standards are central to successful projects.

Conclusion

So my final message is that America today has new and growing interests at stake in Central Asia. As this region opens itself to the outside world, it is vital that Americans develop the tools, find the resources, and use the talent needed to promote our goals of an independent, open, stable, secure and economically developed Central Asia. The group associated with this Institute is a distinguished one which has shown leadership in awakening the United States to the importance of Central Asia. Dr. Brzezinski and Dean Wolfowitz were just in Turkmenistan and Institute Chairman Starr's article on Uzbekistan in Foreign Affairs focused on the importance of the area.

We have been working to develop productive relations with the leaders and societies of this region since its states became independent five years ago. Vice President Gore heads the list of administration officials who have visited the area since independence. This month alone, all five foreign ministers from Central Asia visited Washington. President Clinton received Uzbekistan President Karimov in June and Tajikistan Prime Minister Azimov was here in September. Aside from such exchanges, we have developed a network of bilateral ties and programs in the political, economic and security areas.

So, as we meet this evening, I again wish to salute the Institute and its founders. Your commitment to scholarship and to free, public debate in launching the Central Asia Institute adds an important new voice in support of America's relations with Central Asia. In a larger sense, we also salute the states of Central Asia for their commitment to sovereign equality with all other states in the great Eurasian space. We know from our own experience that a new birth of freedom requires courage and steadfast commitment to the great task ahead. As the citizens of Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan build their new nations, the United States will continue to be fully engaged with these five states. Our cooperation on a government-to-government basis and through excellent independent initiatives such as the Central Asia Institute will continue to deepen across the whole range of interests. I am confident that our partnership with each and our regional cooperation with all five will be vital to their development as resilient, prosperous, sovereign, and democratic states.

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