 In May 2006 Vice President Dick Cheney traveled to Kazakhstan to meet with President Nazarbayev to promote the expansion of oil and gas export routes.This was the third meeting between Cheney and Nazarbayev, the first occurring when Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, and the second shortly after Cheney became vice president.After the meeting, Nazarbayev publicly stated that memoranda of understanding had been signed for co-financing of Kazakh projects and $158 million allocated for defense projects.