Speeches Shim
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On Thursday, November 21, USAID Asia Deputy Assistant Administrator (DAA) Javier Piedra and Vice Minister of Energy, Republic of Kazakhstan, Sungat Yessimkhanov signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development and the Government of Kazakhstan to help establish a Central Asian regional electricity market.
The United States and Kazakhstan took an important step to strengthen energy cooperation today by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will help establish a market-based Central Asian Regional Electricity Market (CAREM). United States Deputy Assistant Administrator Javier Piedra and Vice Minister of Energy, Republic of Kazakhstan, Sungat Yessimkhanov signed the MOU at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The U.S. is the largest single-country provider of trade capacity building assistance in the world. This assistance helps developing countries take advantage of the global trading system and harness trade as an engine of growth and development. USAID works with other U.S. government partners to provide trade capacity building and enterprise development assistance to build the physical, human and institutional capacity of these countries to participate in and benefit from rules-based trade.
USAID enhances regional economic connectivity among countries in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, while building linkages with the United States, Afghanistan, and beyond. USAID's efforts in Central Asia are focused in three main sectors which are foundational for regional economic growth: trade and enterprise development, energy, and environment, including transboundary water management.
The Central Asia Trade Forum, the region’s flagship international event for companies and exporters, opened today in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Over 500 leaders from government, business and civil society from Central and South Asia, Europe, and the United States gathered to explore investment and innovation in horticulture across the region.
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