to Expo. American companies understand its value in showcasing the technology and innovation that the United States holds in energy. Expo 2017 should be seen as the first step in a larger effort to leverage Kazakhstan's unique standing among American friends and partners around the world, using the bilateral relationship to help address issues of critical importance to the United States. The United States and Kazakhstan have both entered a new era – one defined by innovative thinking and steadfast focus on the need to achieve results. We must seize the moment". In the fall of 2017, Council of American Ambassadors published an article by Ambassador Erzhan Kazykhanov, "Kazakhstan: Building a Nuclear Safe World", where he notes that as the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the newly independent Kazakhstan overnight emerged as the fourth-largest nuclear power in the world. Having inherited the major Soviet nuclear testing site at Semipalatinsk and some of the largest nuclear weapons, including 104 SS-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles and 40 Tu-95 strategic bombers with air-launched cruise missiles—comprising approximately 1,410 nuclear warheads in total—the young country could pose a serious threat to the international community. But it did not pursue this destructive path. Instead, as a firm believer in confidence-building measures, dialogue and partnership, Nazarbayev laid down a comprehensive long-term strategy aimed at complete dismantlement and removal of one of the world’s most pivotal nuclear arsenals and establishment of his nation as a reliable partner globally". In January 2018, Kazykhanov published op-ed in the Hill newspaper entitled "Kazakhstan can play a pivotal role in addressing today’s global challenges", where H.E. noted that as the first country from Central Asia to be elected onto the Security Council, it is both an honor and a responsibility. It is also a reminder that Kazakhstan does not just have good relations with the US but also our neighbors Russia and China, with Europe which is our main market, as well as nations across the Middle East and Asia. These friendships have enabled us to use our good offices to promote dialogue and co-operation regionally and globally. For example, Kazakhstan is increasingly playing a prominent role in fostering peace talks, including in the Middle East, hosting the Astana peace talks on Syria. Helping create the environment which will make greater co-operation possible is one of our top priorities for our time on the Security Council". In the interview to the Leaders Magazine