Expanding cooperation in energy, critical minerals and emerging technologies is shaping a new stage in relations between Kazakhstan and the United States, as U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Julie Stufft said in an exclusive interview with the Silk Way TV Channel, highlighting record levels of investment, growing geopolitical alignment and broadening engagement beyond traditional economic ties into security, innovation and global dialogue.
Ambassador Stufft, given the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the United States, as well as the growing amount of American investment in Kazakhstan, which sectors are currently attracting the greatest interest from U.S. investors, and where do you see the strongest potential for long-term cooperation?
The relationship between Kazakhstan and the United States is in the best position in our shared history. It’s very exciting to see our two presidents so aligned and so committed to this relationship. We’re very, very excited for the future. Of course, 35 years ago, when the United States was among the first countries to recognize Kazakhstan and establish diplomatic relations, our relationship was primarily economic.
It was about business investment from the United States into Kazakhstan. But now our relationship goes far beyond that, to security, cultural cooperation, and addressing global issues, like the Abraham Accords. This is the future of our relationship. The United States has invested about $100 billion across all sectors since Kazakhstan’s independence.
This is a huge investment, spanning everything we can imagine. I fully expect that this will continue going forward. It started very much in the energy sector, but has expanded to include aviation, AI, digital technologies, and more. In your confirmation speech for this ambassadorial post, you mentioned energy as well as rare earths as key areas of focus.
Amid the global shift toward a green economy and rising demand for rare earths and critical minerals, how do you see Kazakhstan as a reliable supplier of critical minerals? And do you have any plans for joint production and processing facilities in our country?
Kazakhstan will play a very important global role in critical minerals. Today, in 2026, critical minerals are key to everything we manufacture. AI, for example, cannot develop without access to them. But I do want to say that what Kazakhstan and the United States are doing on critical minerals is a global project.
It is not limited to our two countries. In Washington, we hosted 54 countries a couple of months ago to work together on creating transparent pricing worldwide, so that investors will come to Kazakhstan to mine and help process critical minerals here. Foreign Minister Kosherbayev was a key speaker at that event.
The idea is that Kazakhstan should be able to access its rich mineral resources, sell them at a fair price, and bring in partners of its choice to help with processing. But could you open the door for these negotiations? How close are we to concluding them and launching joint production here in Kazakhstan?
When could this happen, perhaps within a few years? Yes, I hope that this global market framework will be finalized soon. Many countries are currently working on this, far beyond the initial 54 that participated in Washington. We do have joint projects where the United States and Kazakhstan are working together.