Houston, 27 October. On President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's instructions, an official consular office of Kazakhstan will soon open in Houston, Kazakhstan's Consul General in Houston Gabidulla Ospankulov announced at a Republic Day celebration, Kazinform's own correspondent reports.
At the same evening, Jason Wilson, director of the US Commercial Service office in Houston, said trade in goods and services between the United States and Kazakhstan exceeded $7 billion for the first time in 2025. The celebration was organised by the Texas Qazaq Foundation, and city officials presented a proclamation for Republic Day on behalf of Mayor John Whitmire. The opening date and status of the new office have not been specified.
For Kazakhstan, Houston is more than a city with a Kazakh community and the first Kazakh school in the United States, Houston Qazaq School, which has been operating for almost 15 years. It is the capital of the US oil and gas industry: in 2023 ExxonMobil moved its headquarters to the Houston suburb of Spring, and in 2024 Chevron moved its headquarters to Houston. Both companies are Kazakhstan's largest foreign partners in oil production: Chevron owns 50% of Tengizchevroil, ExxonMobil 25%.
What it means: Kazakhstan is strengthening its presence in the city where its main foreign oil partners take their decisions and where the Kazakh diaspora is growing.
Who benefits: Kazakhs in Texas, who get consular services closer to home; Kazakh businesses and oil and gas companies, which gain a permanent channel to the leadership of their American partners.
Background: In the report Ospankulov is named as Kazakhstan's Consul General in Houston; the Foreign Ministry has not yet explained how the new "official consular office" will differ from the current presence.
