It was only Nursultan Nazarbayev's second visit to the White House since 2001. But Kazakhstan's geo-political importance in Central Asia has not been downplayed by the Bush administration.
Before visiting Kazakhstan earlier this year, Vice President Dick Cheney strongly criticized Russia for backsliding on democracy and using energy to gain political advantage over its neighbors.
The following day, Mr. Cheney's remarks about Kazakhstan, another oil-rich nation, were a sharp contrast.
"America has tremendous confidence in your future as a successful, independent, sovereign and prosperous nation. Kazakhstan also has a vital role to play in ensuring prosperity, stability and peace across Central Asia," said Vice President Cheney.
Situated between Russia and China, and with huge oil reserves, Kazakhstan has the potential to become a strategic trading partner with the United States. But according to political scientist Gregory Gleason at the University of New Mexico, there are also other factors to consider.
"It's a country that's primarily a Muslim country and it's a very moderate Muslim country. The success of Kazakhstan could stand as a kind of model for other Muslim countries around the world of the kinds of benefits, the kinds of prosperity, that are possible if a country does eschew and avoid the kinds of extremist movements that are characteristic of other countries throughout the Muslim world," says Gleason.
And that, many experts say, is an important reason for the United States and the West to pursue a course of constructive engagement with Nursultan Nazarbayev's Kazakhstan.