Open letter to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tokayev

OPEN LETTER

To the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev

Mr. President,

On May 19, 2025, we officially submitted a letter to you via the eGov portal, proposing the conclusion of an Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States of America on critical mineral resources, including within it the project of a new deep-sea port on the Caspian Sea. This proposal was driven not only by the logic of economic development but also by a commitment to strengthening Kazakhstan’s sovereignty amid growing geopolitical turbulence.

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Unfortunately, despite the strategic significance of the initiative, our letter was forwarded to line ministries — where issues of this magnitude can be evaluated only through an administrative, rather than a national strategic lens. We fully respect the institutions of executive power and acknowledge the importance of expert assessments from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport.

However, we firmly believe that a matter of this scale must be placed directly under the attention of the Head of State — the guarantor of Kazakhstan’s independence and long-term strategic course.

On the eve of President Xi Jinping’s visit and the second “Central Asia – China” summit, we wish to emphasize the following: according to our information, there is ongoing discussion regarding the possible inclusion of the deep-sea port project in the joint Kazakhstan–China infrastructure package.

We consider this a highly risky move, for the following reasons:

This project has already been officially presented to the U.S. side — as a foundation for strategic partnership within the PGII framework and the future Critical Minerals Agreement;

Its inclusion in the Chinese package would be perceived as an abandonment of balanced multi-vector diplomacy and would damage U.S. trust;

Kazakhstan risks losing a unique opportunity to implement this project with priority on processing, high standards, and sovereign control. We respectfully request that the deep-sea port project not be included in the Chinese roadmap. Please preserve it as a standalone track within the Kazakhstan–U.S. strategic dialogue.

This would be an act of sovereignty — and a demonstration of Kazakhstan’s ability to shape its own geoeconomic policy. Kazakhstan is not a transit zone. It is a center of decision-making. Not an object, but a subject of global policy. The architecture we are proposing is not an alternative to China — it is a mechanism for balance and for strengthening sovereignty. The proposed agreement with the U.S. does not violate Kazakhstan’s commitments within the EAEU, SCO, or other platforms. On the contrary — it elevates trust in Kazakhstan as a nation capable of conducting a truly multi-vector foreign policy based on equality and mutual benefit. We are not asking for support. We are offering a strategic alliance — grounded in processing, technology, sovereign control over resources, and transparent logistics.

It is important to note that the United States was the first party to be officially and directly informed.

The U.S. was the first to be invited to participate in the development of this agreement, the port project, and the strategic revenue-sharing model. This grants the American partners the right of priority and establishes their special status in the context of this initiative. Kazakhstan can become not a bridge between global powers — but the core of a safe, resilient, and just Eurasia.

The key to this lies in leadership, political will, and a readiness to act proactively.

We call on citizens, experts, civil society, and business representatives to support this message.

Kazakhstan deserves strategy — not tactics.

Respectfully,