US embassy cable - 05ALMATY1027

UNCLAS ALMATY 001027 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PREL, PGOV, KZ, POLITICAL 
SUBJECT:  USAID MEDIA TOUR IN ALMATY SUCCESSFULLY PROMOTES 
POSITIVE U.S. IMAGE AND HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIPS 
 
1.  Summary:  On March 10, the Ambassador hosted a day-long 
Media Tour in Almaty, in an effort to increase Kazakhstani 
public awareness of U.S. assistance projects.  USAID's 
Country Representative in Kazakhstan, Almaz Sharman, also 
helped to "MC" the event.  This was the fourth media tour in 
a series of regional events undertaken by USAID (other tours 
have been conducted in Shymkent, Osh and Dushanbe). 
Journalists from more than a dozen media outlets attended, 
representing Russian and Kazakh, television, radio, print 
and news agency outlets.  End summary. 
 
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Visits to a Range of Projects 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  The Media Tour began with a visit to the Kazhydromet, 
where USAID has funded a water resources project and helped 
to train water and meteorological specialists on data 
collection and weather forecasting.  Journalists viewed the 
high tech weather collection equipment and interviewed local 
specialists.  The tour then proceeded to the Republican AIDS 
Center, where journalists had a chance both to interview 
resident doctors and to see the laboratory (donated with 
U.S. funds) where HIV and AIDS tests are undertaken. 
Journalists were then introduced to USAID's economic and 
development project at the Almaty Kilem, an old Soviet 
carpet factory.  Almaty Kilem has been working with Pragma 
and the Quality Management Center to become more efficient 
and comply with international standards.  The Ambassador 
participated in a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the 
opening of their public store, an initiative started as part 
of Almaty Kilem's marketing strategy, developed in part by 
Pragma.  The tour closed at the Ambassador's residence, 
where journalists had the opportunity to meet alumni of U.S. 
exchange programs, such as the Muskie program. 
 
3.  Journalists in attendance were engaged and asked many 
questions, such as querying about the motivations behind 
assistance programs both in Almaty and the Central Asia 
region.  The message that a stable and prosperous Kazakhstan 
is in America's national interest was heard by all in 
attendance.  The Ambassador also took the opportunity to set 
the record straight on the hot topic of the tour, the 
Procuracy's launch of investigations of over 30 U.S.-funded 
NGO's which had just become public that day. 
 
------------------------ 
Extensive Press Coverage 
------------------------ 
 
4.  The news agencies Interfax and Kazinform posted stories 
the same day, while the tour appeared in the March 11 
editions of official daily Kazakhstanskaya Pravda, the 
centrist weekly Panorama and pro-government daily Aikyn. 
Highlights from the tour also appeared on the March 10 
primetime news of three television channels:  KTK, the 
highest-rated; Channel 31, the most acclaimed; and and 
Yuzhnaya Stolitsa, Almaty's municipal station.  Channel 31 
also featured the Ambassador's interview on a 10-minute 
segment for the Sunday news analysis program, Sostoyaniye 
KZ.  The segment concluded with this quote:  "The excursion 
was successful.  The Ambassador notes that maintaining 
friendly relations is cheaper than confrontation and that is 
why American money is everywhere in Kazakhstan.  Funding 
supports education for the most talented, scientific 
innovators, the purchase of new equipment, the fight against 
AIDS and malaria, and bold artistic ideas.  The money is 
accepted with pleasure.  It seems that nobody but the 
prosecutors doubts the charity of the American people." 
 
5.  Comment:  In addition to the positive press coverage, 
this event was a great example of USAID and other Embassy 
officials working together to promote all aspects of U.S. 
assistance.  Previous tours have been organized and run 
mainly by USAID staff.  This round, the USAID public 
outreach team successfully worked with each technical office 
at USAID and the Embassy's Public Affairs Office was 
intimately involved, especially the press officer and the 
cultural affairs officer.  The end result was that the media 
tour better reflected to broad range of assistance we give. 
End comment. 
 
 
Ordway 
 
 
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