Foreign Minister Qasymzhomart Toqaev said on 30 April that integration among Central Asian countries is \"unlikely to take place in the near future.\" The remarks came at the fifth session of the Foreign Ministry\'s Council for Foreign Policy. Toqaev noted that integration requires similar levels of structural development, a desire for integration, and an enormous amount of work. He concluded that Central Asian countries are not yet prepared for this. Nevertheless, Toqaev termed the Single Economic Space \"the first real integration [effort] in the former Soviet Union.\" Toqaev also said that U.S. military bases in Central Asia are \"a natural addition to the other U.S. presence -- economic and political.\" Additionally, Toqaev thanked the United States for eliminating the Taliban regime. Finally, Toqaev observed that Russia is \"making a major effort to direct investments to the economies of virtually all post-Soviet countries.\" (Interfax-Kazakhstan)