US Assistant Secretary of State visiting Kazakhstan

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Nisha Biswal is arriving to Kazakhstan on March 31 and then will visit the neighboring Kyrgyzstan on April 2, Tengrinews reports.

Here trip to the two Central Asian countries is widely viewed as a way to demonstrate U.S. support for the independence of these post-Soviet republics and strengthen the positions of the United States in the region after Russia's annexation of Crimea in another post-Soviet country Ukraine two weeks ago.

Biswal is visiting Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan from March 31 to April 2 and will spend April 2-4 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, U.S. State Department reports.

The U.S. Assistance Secretary of State is going to reiterate the United States' commitment for cooperation with these two countries and ensuring stability and prosperity in the region.

Biswal will meet ranking Kazakhstan officials to discuss issues of the regional importance and prospects of bilateral cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United States. Biswal will also meet with businessmen and prominent public figures.

In the course of her stay in Astana the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State will deliver a speeck about "the bright future of the U.S.-Kazakhstan partnership" at Gumilev Eurasian National University on April 1.

In Bishkek, likewise she will meet with Kyrgyz officials and lecture at the American University in Central Asia.