Throughout Central Asia, leaders are on edge about instability in Afghanistan and Tajikistan. They fear an expansion of Iranian influence and the rise of violent extremism in their countries. They are wary of reliance on Russia. We are trying to help them address each of these concerns, including especially through such regional cooperative efforts. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan hosted substantial elements of the Soviet military-industrial complex, and these capabilities are attractive targets to countries, such as Iran, seeking to acquire advanced military technologies on the cheap.
Weak economies make Central Asia susceptible to deal making.
Through Nunn-Lugar programs, export control training, cooperation on terrorism, drug trafficking and work together in other areas, we are seeking to address these threats, but an enormous amount of work remains to be done. Unfortunately, our suspension of operations in Dushanbe for security reasons hurts our efforts in Tajikistan. I said that democracy, market economics, regional cooperation, and sound security policies were the elements of our policy to promote independence in Central Asia. As a result of progress made over the past 8 years, the Central Asians are securing their independence and raising their profile in the international community. But vital systemic changes remain to be made virtually everywhere in the region.