Written question asked by Paul Keetch (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 2 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 March 2010. It was answered by Chris Bryant (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 March 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Kazakhstan: Politics and Government

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress of the government of Kazakhstan in implementing the commitments to reform it made prior to its Chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in 2010.

Answer: Kazakhstan has taken some limited steps forward, but there have been developments, for example in limiting media freedom, that have caused concern. We have stressed to the Kazakhs the need to live up to the obligations that relate to both its membership and Chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). On 14 January 2010, President Nazarbayev pledged to "pursue further political liberalisation". This was underlined by Kazakh Foreign Minister Saudabayev when he told my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in January that Kazakhstan would remain committed to the founding principles of the OSCE. We look forward to that being the case. We will continue to support Kazakhstan's efforts towards meeting their OSCE commitments, and the challenges they face as Chair.

Secondary information