EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ALMATY 000924 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC PVANSON, ACHURCH, ACUMMINGS DEPT FOR EUR/ACE DEPT FOR SCA/CEN JMUDGE CBP/INA FOR PWARKER AND FOR CDONOFRIO USDOE/NNSA TPERRY, CWALKER DOC FOR 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 (FEBRUARY 2006) ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: ¶1. EXBS Almaty devoted a substantial amount of time this month to preparing for the delivery of three boats and organizing an event to celebrate their arrival to the Caspian (additional information below in section D). ¶2. EXBS Kazakhstan's move to Astana is rapidly approaching. The office is scheduled to leave Almaty for the embassy branch office in Kazakhstan's capital city sometime in June. At the end of the summer, EXBS Kazakhstan will relocate once again--this time to the new embassy compound in Astana. II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS CONDUCTED ¶1. February 7 - Advisor Offenbacher participated in a meeting on USAID's trade facilitation project. Secretary Rice recently announced additional funding for this regional initiative, which aims to reduce cross-border transaction costs and increase transparency by harmonizing and streamlining customs operations. ¶2. February 10 - The EXBS program office assisted the DOE/NNSA's Search and Secure program by helping coordinate the delivery of four large items (isotope identifiers and Geiger Mueller probes) that were not included in the program's initial radiation detection equipment shipment last May. The Search and Secure program provides equipment and training to help countries search for, locate, and identify orphan radioactive sources. ¶3. February 14 - EXBS Almaty staff attended a meeting with U.S.-based and local representatives of the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies. The Center is working on a proposal for a regional conference in Almaty devoted to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 issues. ¶4. February 16 - At ISN/ECC's behest, EXBS advisor investigated the possibility of establishing an MOU that would allow the use of the regional USAID office's contracting officers for future EXBS procurements in Central Asia. Further discussion will be necessary to determine the feasibility of this option. ¶5. February 20-21 - EXBS Advisor Offenbacher and Program Manager Abildaeva traveled to the Kostanai region to meet with representatives of the border guard and visit several zastavas (border control points). The zastava buildings were rather spartan, but they did contain basic handheld radio communications equipment, one or two dogs, old Soviet-era jeeps and the occasional computer. Effective patrolling of the frontier is problematic in the winter as each zastava is responsible for a large (from 70- 150 kilometers) swath of the border that is snow-covered half the year. Extremely cold weather significantly decreases a handheld radio's battery life between charges. Access roads near or along the border are poor or non- existent and - unlike their Russian colleagues on the other side of the border - the Kazakhstanis do not have snowmobiles that would allow them much greater access and range. We were told by the border guard that they liaise ALMATY 00000924 002 OF 003 with local residents to obtain intelligence on human activities in the area of the border. Our overall impression was that not much patrolling or even observation of the border was being conducted in the winter. ¶6. February 24 - EXBS advisor participated in an interagency meeting to discuss Kazakhstan's strengths and weaknesses in combating nuclear smuggling. This new initiative is being spearheaded by the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation's Office of Proliferation Threat Reduction, which for this purpose developed a comprehensive assessment of Kazakhstan's ability to counter the trafficking of nuclear and radioactive materials. At the end of the meeting, the U.S. delegation left the Kazakhstanis with a nonpaper and requested a written response addressing their assessment's findings. A follow-on meeting will be held after Kazakhstan's response is sent. Kazakhstan is the second country to be engaged under this initiative; a similar meeting was previously held in Ukraine. ¶7. February 27 - EXBS advisor convened a meeting to work out the details of the turnover ceremony for the Safe boats. ¶8. February 27 - EXBS Almaty staff participated in an informational meeting with Roy Gordon of the Mobat Company, a producer of Micom high-frequency radio systems. ¶9. Final week in February - Arranged meetings with Kazakhstani Government officials in anticipation of Anne Cumming's early March trip to Kazakhstan. ¶B. TRAINING DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. None. ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. None. ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE ¶1. COMMODITY IDENTIFICATION TRAINING - This pilot event scheduled for the week of March 13 represents the culmination of several years of work to establish an indigenous controlled commodity training capability. For the first time this course will be taught by Kazakhstanis for Kazakhstanis; nuclear technical experts from National Nuclear Center in Kurchatov will serve as instructors for this week-long event. Students will include personnel from Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee and Border Service. Several U.S. representatives from the National Nuclear Security Administration and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will attend the training. ¶2. SAFE BOATS - The March 16 date established for the turnover ceremony proved to be premature; the event had to be postponed for a second time due to uncertainty surrounding the boats' delivery schedule. The three 42- foot fast response boats built for Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard Division are slowly approaching Baku by rail and are expected to reach Kazakhstan's Caspian shore by the middle of March. The ceremony is now likely to be pushed back to April due to the extensive coordination and preparation required for this high-profile event. Safe ALMATY 00000924 003 OF 003 Boat International manufactured the boats and the U.S. Coast Guard is the lead on this EXBS-funded procurement. EXBS Almaty continues to coordinate closely with the Baku- based EXBS Maritime Regional Advisor's office on a range of issues related to the boats' impending delivery, the subsequent turnover ceremony, and related training. Several country clearances were issued this month in anticipation of U.S. Coast Guard representatives' arrival to assist with the transport of the boats to Bautino, their final destination. ¶3. CENTRAL ASIA AND CAUCASUS REGIONAL FORUM ON EXPORT CONTROL - This eighth regional event will be held in Tbilisi, Georgia from May 16-18. Kazakhstan has been asked to send five delegates, including Chingiz Massenov, Head of the Materials Control Division of Kazakhstan's Atomic Energy Committee, to the event. Mr. Massenov has been asked to deliver a presentation on risk-screening methods for a break-out session devoted to licensing. ¶4. INTERNATIONAL BORDER INTERDICTION TRAINING (IBIT) - A diplomatic note was transmitted to Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee and Border Service with a request to identify eight participants from each agency for the July 17-21 IBIT 1 training in Hidalgo, Texas. ¶5. U.S. COAST GUARD MOBILE TRAINING & EDUCATION TEAM - EXBS Almaty contacted the leadership of Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard Division to gauge their interest in the U.S. Coast Guard's Small Boat Operations and Law Enforcement Boarding Officer training courses. The Kazakhstanis responded positively and tentatively agreed to the Coast Guard's proposed dates in late May, June and early July. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY ¶1. None. ¶F. CASPIAN SECURITY UPDATE Please see section D, paragraph 2. III. RED FLAG ISSUES. EXBS Almaty is working with a U.S. Customs and Border Protection financial officer to determine how to return over $100,000 in VAT refund money to EXBS Kazakhstan's budget. The refund was received from the purchase of locally-produced modular shelters that were provided to the Border Service of Kazakhstan. The point of contact for this report is Andrew S. Offenbacher, EXBS Advisor, OffenbacherAS@state.gov, tel: +7(3272)504-945, cell: +7(333)225-1156. ORDWAY