Iran Tracker

Nuclear:

During his visit to Tehran in June 2006, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev said that Kazakhstan supported the peaceful resolution of the conflict and opposes the use of nuclear enrichment for military purposes.[1]  During a June 2009 press conference with Israeli President Shimon Peres, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev affirmed that "no nuclear material will reach Iran" from Kazakhstan and that “the leak of nuclear materials is a critical issue for us." According to experts, Kazakhstan possesses as much as 15 percent of the world’s uranium supply.[2] Kazakhstan is one of the five Caspian Sea littoral states. 

[Click here for more information on the Caspian Sea states.]

Economic Relationship:

Iran and Kazakhstan, two oil-rich countries, both profit from subterranean and underwater oil and gas reserves. In a meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 2007, Iranian President Ahmadinejad said, "today, our trade exceeds $2 billion. Both countries are determined to bring it to $10 billion over a certain period of time.” [3] In recent years, Kazakhstan has also expanded its refined oil shipments to Iran, which despite its vast crude reserves does not have the capacity to refine enough oil for its domestic use.[4] 

During a March 2009 meeting of the ten-nation Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), an economic bloc in which both Iran and Kazakhstan are members, the ECO stated that it aimed to establish a free trade zone for its members by 2015.[5]  In April, during a meeting between the Iranian and Kazakh presidents, the two agreed to establish a joint oil tanker company and to improve cooperation in fields such as healthcare, media, and tourism.[6] The two leaders also discussed the need to overhaul the world financial system, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying that "through joint efforts we will manage to neutralize the impact of the financial crisis and strengthen regional economic cooperation."[7] In June, 2009, business leaders from Iran’s Ardabil province signed a commercial cooperation agreement with the government of Kazakhstan.[8]

Diplomatic/Military Relationship:

Most Kazakh and Iranian diplomatic interaction has revolved around division of the Caspian Sea. Both have a share of the seabed’s resources and both profit from the vast oil reserves there. In a joint declaration made in 2007, the five Caspian states, including Iran and Kazakhstan, agreed that they "under no circumstances will allow the use of their territories by other states for an aggression or other military actions against any of the parties."[9]

During an April 2009 meeting between the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazabayev, Ahmadinejad noted that "although Iran's ties with Kazakhstan are not longstanding, they are rooted in culture and national interests," and indicated that bilateral ties have grown positively since Kazakhstan’s independence.[10]  In April 2009, President Ahmadinejad received an honorary doctorate from the Eurasian National University in Kazakhstan. Ahmadinejad described the honor as "a symbol of friendship and brotherhood between the two countries - Iran and Kazakhstan."[11]  In June 2009, shortly before Iran’s presidential elections, Kazakhstan established a military attache’s office in the Kazakh embassy in Tehran.[12]