Erlan A. Idrissov

Erlan Idrissov trained in international economic relations at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and worked in Pakistan before joining the Kazakh foreign ministry. Following independence, he served at Kazakhstan's United Nations mission, headed the ministry's America Department, and advised the president. He became foreign minister in 1999, then ambassador in London before moving to Washington in 2007. ¹

In November 2010, Idrissov and Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro signed an accord permitting additional transport of American personnel and equipment through Kazakhstan's airspace. By allowing polar routes, it broadened arrangements that had been operating since 2001 and sought to shorten supply journeys. ²

Idrissov later served a second term as foreign minister and returned to the United Kingdom as ambassador in 2017. His work there included cultural diplomacy: he was a scheduled speaker at the embassy and Cambridge University Press's 2020 launch of a new English language collection of Abai's works. ³