The U.S. Department of Energy and Kazakhstan have enjoyed a long history of cooperation under the U.S.-Kazakhstan Energy Partnership framework. The Partnership was formalized in 2001 and focused on several cooperative areas such as nuclear security and nuclear energy; oil and gas; renewable energy and energy efficiency; and, electric power. Subsequent work also focused on the areas of energy security and clean energy cooperation.

Kazakhstan has set an ambitious goal to produce 50 percent of the country’s energy from renewable sources by 2050. As such, the Energy Partnership has most recently been active in the areas of sharing best practices and enhancing technical capacity for clean energy deployment and developing efficient, market-based systems for the delivery of electricity.

In 2016, through the Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of Energy hosted a group of Kazakh specialists on a study tour to the United States during which they explored the history of electricity market regulation in the United States and how renewables are being integrated into the electric grid today. The specialists engaged with experts from federal and state governments, regional grid operators, and the private sector over the course of the tour.

Last year, Kazakhstan hosted EXPO 2017 with the theme of "Future Energy", and the Office of International Affairs facilitated U.S. Department of Energy leadership and scientific support for the event.