KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR'S VISIT TO AKTAU

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ALMATY 002034

SIPDIS

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA)

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PARM PREL KNNP KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: AMBASSADOR'S VISIT TO AKTAU


ALMATY 00002034 001.3 OF 002



1. Summary: On May 17-18, the Ambassador traveled to the
Caspian coastal city of Aktau to meet with representatives
of the regional government, visit two sites receiving U.S.
assistance, and partake in an official ceremony marking the
transfer of three brand-new, U.S.-made patrol boats to the
Border Service of Kazakhstan. End summary.

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VISITS AND MEETINGS ON MAY 17
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2. First on the schedule was a visit to the decommissioned
BN-350 Fast Breeder reactor. The U.S. delegation was
whisked through the gates surrounding the complex and
brought to the facility's briefing room for an overview of
the reactor's history and past and current decommissioning
efforts by Gennady Pugachev, BN-350 Director and Saken
Utebayev, General Director of Kazatomprom. The Ambassador
asked whether there were any additional financial needs for
BN-350 projects, and was told that although there are not
any additional financial needs for the joint U.S.-
Kazakhstani projects, there would be room for more
assistance in other areas, for example liquid and solid
waste treatment facilities. Next, the group was taken to
see the BN-350 museum, followed by a quick tour of both the
Sodium Processing Facility and the reactor building.


3. After returning to Aktau, the Ambassador met with
Mangystau Region Akim Krymbek Kusherbayev. Topics of
conversation included the development the region as a
multimodal transportation and logistics hub, development of
the hydrocarbon industry and related infrastructure
projects, and plans to expand the free economic zone at the
Port of Aktau. Other issues covered during the meeting
included employment and salary levels in the region (both
quite high),the education and training of personnel, the
health care system, and the oralman (ethnic Kazakh
repatriates) from Turkmenistan and elsewhere. A brief
press conference was held outside the Akim's office
following the meeting.


4. Next on the agenda was a tour of the Kazakhstani Naval
Institute, where eighteen U.S. Navy construction
specialists ("Seabees") began a four-month renovation
project in mid-April. The Institute's facilities were
inherited from a dilapidated 1970s polytechnic institute
campus and are in rather bad condition. The Kazakhstani
Navy repeatedly asked the U.S. for assistance in
renovating/upgrading the institute's facilities, which led
to the SeaBee project, valued in excess of $1 million.
During the tour Naval Institute Commandant Captain Murat
Tulekhbayev and Seabee Detachment Commander Richard Steffee
showed the group the future dining facility, kitchen,
classrooms and conference rooms, and were on hand to answer
the group's numerous questions.

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FAST RESPONSE BOAT TURNOVER CEREMONY ON MAY 18
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5. A ceremony was held at the Port of Aktau the morning of
May 18 to mark the donation of three forty-two-foot Fast
Response Boats to Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard. The
boats are worth almost $2 million and were provided by the
U.S. Department of State's Export Control and Related
Border Security Assistance Program (EXBS) through an
interagency partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Ambassador Ordway and Akim Kusherbayev made brief speeches
before cutting a ribbon and boarding one of the boats for a
brief demonstration of its extraordinary agility in the
water provided by its dual inboard jets. The boats were
manufactured by Safe Boats International of Port Orchard,
Washington, and were selected for their stability, speed
and range. The ceremony represented a culmination of a
multiple-year effort to provide Kazakhstan's Border Guards
with a high-speed, highly maneuverable vessel for use on
the Caspian Sea.

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ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES ON MAY 18
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6. Following the Safe Boat ceremony, the U.S. delegation
accompanied General Yelemes Zhanabergenov, Head of the
Border Service's Western Division, to the Border Service's
Regional Headquarters, where they received a briefing on
Kazakhstan's command center and associated radar sites.
The Russian-made system is comprised of nine radar sites
that cover much of Kazakhstan's Caspian coast.

ALMATY 00002034 002.2 OF 002




7. The delegation then visited the "Aktau Infrastructure"
First Caspian Regional Exhibition. The trade show featured
several dozen exhibitors, most of whom are in one way or
another involved in the development of the region's booming
oil and gas industry.

ORDWAY