Mar 19, 2013
On January 7, 2013 the new Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States, Kairat Umarov, arrived in Washington D.C. Upon his arrival at Dulles International Airport, he was greeted by State Department officials.
Dr. Umarov was appointed as the Ambassador by the President of Kazakhstan on Jan 4, 2013. He is one of Kazakhstan’s finest diplomats and is expected to help further strengthen the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and the U.S. This critical relationship encompasses such crucial priorities as nuclear non-proliferation, energy, trade and investments, agriculture, science and technology and people to people contacts.
Over his distinguished career in the foreign service, he has held various important posts at the Foreign Ministry and Presidential Administration, including Minister Counselor at the Kazakh Embassy in Washington D.C., Ambassador-at-Large at the Foreign Ministry, and Chief Inspector at the Foreign Policy Center of the Presidential Administration. From 2004-2009, he served as the Ambassador to India. During his tenure there, bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and India grew significantly and a strategic partnership between the two countries was formally established. While in New Delhi, he also was a concurrent Ambassador to Sri Lanka.
From 2009 to January 2013 he was a Deputy Foreign Minister overlooking bilateral relations with the United States, Kazakhstan's engagement with international organizations and was responsible for raising international awareness about Kazakhstan. He co-chaired the Kazakhstan-United States Strategic Partnership Commission, the main bilateral cooperation mechanism, and served as a Sherpa for Kazakhstan at Nuclear Security Summits in Washington D.C. and Seoul.