US official to visit Kazakhstan, open US Consulate General in Almaty

ASTANA. December 11. KAZINFORM. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert Blake, will visit Kazakhstan December 13 - 15. On December 14 Assistant Secretary Blake will officially open the U.S. Consulate General in Almaty; the US Embassy's press service told Kazinform.
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The United States Embassy has had a Branch Office in Almaty since the Embassy moved to Astana in 2006. The Embassy Branch Office in Almaty is now being upgraded to a full Consulate General, the first U.S. Consulate General in Central Asia.  After the ceremony, which will be attended by representatives of the government of Kazakhstan and the diplomatic community, Assistant Secretary Blake will answer journalists' questions.

While in Almaty, Assistant Secretary Blake will also host a roundtable of Kazakhstani business leaders. This roundtable is the first round of a series of events throughout the world leading up to the Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit early in 2010. This summit will fulfill the commitment made by President Obama in Cairo earlier this year to work together with Muslim communities to build a more prosperous world for us all.   

On December 15, Assistant Secretary Blake will be in Astana, where he will meet with Kazakhstani government officials to build on the already strong strategic partnership that exists between Kazakhstan and the United States. This is the second trip Assistant Secretary Blake has made to Kazakhstan this year, underlining the importance that the United States places on its partnership with Kazakhstan; the Embassy's press release reads.

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