Foreign relations of Kazakhstan

Foreign relations of Kazakhstan are primarily based on economic and political security consideration. The Nazarbayev administration has tried to balance relations with Russia and the United States by sending petroleum and natural gas to its northern neighbor at artificially low prices while assisting the U.S. in the War on Terror. Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (which it chaired in 2010), North Atlantic Cooperation Council, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan established a customs union with Russia and Belarus which eventually became the Eurasian Economic Union. President Nazarbayev has prioritized economic diplomacy into Kazakhstan's foreign policy.

Kazakhstan has a "multi-vector" foreign policy, i.e. a triangulation between Russia, China and the West (E.U. and the U.S.). Kazakhstan has called for “intra-regional integration in Central Asia” and international integration of the region.

In December 2010, Kazakhstan held its first OSCE summit since 1999.