EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ALMATY 002059 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC PVANSON, ACHURCH, ACUMMINGS DEPT FOR EUR/ACE RBUCK DEPT FOR SCA/CEN JMUDGE CBP/INA FOR BWATT AND CDONOFRIO USDOE/NNSA TPERRY, CWALKER, EDESCHLER DOC FOR DCREED AND PETERSON-BEARD USCG FOR CWILSON AMEMBASSY BERLIN FOR CUSTOMS ATTACHE AMEMBASSY TASHKENT, BISHKEK, BAKU, DUSHANBE FOR EXBS ADVISORS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP KZ SUBJECT: EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE (MAY 2006) ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: ¶1. This is the office's final dispatch from Almaty. EXBS Kazakhstan will move to the Embassy Branch Office (EBO) in Astana the last weekend in June. EXBS Program staff continues to make preparations for the move to the EBO, as well as for the subsequent move to the New Embassy Compound, which is expected to take place in early September 2006. ¶2. A significant amount of time during this reporting period was spent preparing for and executing the Ambassador's two-day trip to Aktau to participate in the turnover ceremony for the Safe Boats and other activities. ¶3. EXBS Kazakhstan completed the CAJE process for a new LES position - an EXBS Program Assistant; the position description is currently under review by the ISN/ECC EXBS Advisor Management Team. ¶4. A TDY EXBS Advisor is expected to arrive in Astana in late June to assist the office with the busy and challenging move period and summer EXBS activities. II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS CONDUCTED ¶1. X-RAY VAN REPAIR - Eleventh-hour problems dashed hopes that an inoperable x-ray van (one of two in Kazakhstan) at Kazakhstan's Kaplanbek port of entry could be repaired by a DOE maintenance team. The DOE team arrived in early May to work on the x-ray vans in Uzbekistan, but was not authorized to visit Kazakhstan during this trip. EXBS Kazakhstan received notification that Kazakhstan's van was broken and arranged for the Kazakhstanis to drive the van across the border to Uzbekistan's Gisht Kuprik port to allow the U.S. team to repair the Kazakhstanis' van there. Unfortunately, the American team was denied permission to visit Gisht Kuprik by the Uzbek authorities and therefore could not perform the work on Kazakhstan's van. ¶2. SAFE BOAT TURNOVER CEREMONY - The May 18 ceremony to mark the donation of three forty-two-foot Fast Response Boats to Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard went off mostly without a hitch, although the Kazakhstani sailors' inability to efficiently unhitch a boat (and later smoothly return the boat to the dock) raised red flags about their competence. During the ceremony Ambassador Ordway and regional Governor Krymbek 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 Ambassador participated in a brief press conference upon the conclusion of the ceremony. The three boats were manufactured by Safe Boats International of Port Orchard, Washington, and are worth almost $2 million. They were provided by the EXBS Program through an interagency partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard. The boats 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. EXBS Kazakhstan will work in tandem with ALMATY 00002059 002 OF 004 the EXBS Regional Maritime Advisor's office in Baku to ensure appropriate follow-on training and maintenance in the years to come. Other activities in which the Ambassador participated included: a tour of the U.S. Navy's renovation efforts at Kazakhstan's Naval Academy being carried out by the SeaBees; a visit to decommissioned BN-350 nuclear reactor; a meeting with Governor Kusherbayev; a briefing on the Border Service's radar system used to monitor their sector of the Caspian; and a visit to a regional trade show. ¶3. ISN/CTR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING TALKS - On May 25, EXBS Advisor participated in the second round of talks in Astana devoted to all aspects of nuclear smuggling. The initial discussions were held in February 2006 and included Kazakhstani officials from several agencies. The second event saw wider participation from both the U.S. and Kazakhstani sides, and during the meeting a priority needs document was negotiated and tentatively agreed on; it will finalized only after it is reviewed by two Kazakhstani agencies that could not attend the meeting. The nuclear smuggling initiative is being spearheaded by the State Department's Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction, and is active in several countries in the region. ¶4. EXBS MARITIME REGIONAL OFFICE'S EFFORTS - At the end of May, Mike Taffe and Tarlan Gahramanova met with Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard in Aktau to discuss maritime training, boat maintenance and other issues. ¶B. TRAINING DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. May 13-26 - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency's International Counterproliferation Program conducted two one-week WMD Crime Scene Management Courses in Almaty and Astana. ¶2. May 16-18 - Six Kazakhstani government officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Atomic Energy Committee, National Security Committee, and the Customs Committee attended and delivered presentations at the Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Forum on Export Controls in Tbilisi, Georgia. Dauren Aben, the Director of the NGO Center for Nonproliferation Studies' NIS Representative Office in Almaty, was the seventh Kazakhstani delegate at the Forum. Chingiz Massenov of the Atomic Energy Committee delivered a presentation entitled "Risk Screening Methods: Pros and Cons" that was reportedly well received. Sideline meetings included a discussion about Kazakhstan's possible future participation in the Tracker (license processing) software program. ¶3. May 23-25 - The National Nuclear Safety Administration's International Nonproliferation Export Control Program (NNSA/INECP) conducted a seminar on export controls and internal compliance programs for nuclear industries in the South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions. Both the organizers' comments and the EXBS Advisor's conversation with one of the Kazakhstani participants indicate a successful event. ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ALMATY 00002059 003 OF 004 ¶1. SPARE PARTS FOR THE SEA ARK BOAT - A parts package for the Maritime Border Guard Division's Sea Ark boat worth $19,500 was delivered to the Caspian city of Aktau. It was somewhat challenging to obtain customs clearance for the package as the regional customs department in has had little experience dealing with assistance shipments consigned to the embassy. Nevertheless, the parts were eventually released to the Border Guard. Mike Taffe, EXBS Regional Maritime Advisor, is currently working to identify a vendor capable of performing diagnostic tests and conducting maintenance on the ageing Sea Ark vessel. ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE ¶1. XRF METAL ANALYZERS - In Astana on June 14-15, NNSA/INECP will demonstrate the use of XRF metal analyzers and will deliver a training course for Kazakhstani customs inspectors and instructors. XRF units are used to analyze metals and alloys to help determine whether they have a strategic use. The training will be taught by experts from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and will be held at the Customs Control Committee's headquarters in Astana. Three XRF units worth $80,000 will be donated to Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee upon conclusion of the training. ¶2. END-USE/END-USER ANALYSIS WORKSHOP - The NNSA's INECP will hold a workshop on June 15-16 in Astana for export licensors from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and representatives of other agencies who review export licenses. ¶3. SMALL BOAT OPERATIONS COURSE - This 2-week U.S. Coast Guard training is back on track after a period of uncertainty. The training will be conducted from June 26- July 7 at the Maritime Border Guard Division's facility in Bautino on the Caspian, some 100 miles north of Aktau. The delivery of this course is particularly timely in light of the recent arrival of the three Safe Boats. It aims to familiarize students with procedures to be followed for the safe and effective operation of small boats. ¶4. INTERNATIONAL BORDER INTERDICTION TRAINING (IBIT 1) - Logistical arrangements for this event are moving forward well. All of the students' names (8 Border Guards and 8 Customs Officers) have been submitted to the EXBS office, vetting requirements have been completed, and U.S. visa application instructions have been provided to the participants. In addition to one week of training at the Mexican-U.S. border in Texas, the event will include a one- day visit to the U.S. Border Guard Academy in Artesia, New Mexico. ¶5. MODULAR SHELTERS AND HIGH-CLEARANCE TRUCKS - EXBS Kazakhstan completed a SOW for the purchase of four of each of the abovementioned items and is waiting for Washington to approve and release the funds. The modular shelters and trucks are to be used on Kazakhstan's border with Russia in the far northwestern corner of the country. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY ¶1. It took 49 months, but the Second line of Defense Implementing Arrangement for Kazakhstan was finally signed in Astana on May 5. A National Nuclear Security ALMATY 00002059 004 OF 004 Administration delegation will travel to Astana to discuss the locations, types of equipment/monitors, training, timeline and other issues related to the project's implementation. The EXBS Program office in Kazakhstan has been assigned a coordinating role and has been asked to represent the embassy at these and future meetings. ¶F. CASPIAN SECURITY INFORMATION ¶1. Please see Section A, paragraph 2 and 4; Section C, paragraph 1; and section D, paragraph 3. III. RED FLAG ISSUES. None. The point of contact for this report is Andrew S. Offenbacher, EXBS Advisor, OffenbacherAS@state.gov, tel: +7(3272)504945, cell: +7(333)225-1156. ORDWAY