EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR'S MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 000078 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR ISN/ECC PVANSON, ACHURCH, JHARTSHORN DEPT FOR ISN/ECC-AMT LSPRINGER DEPT FOR EUR/ACE RBUCK DEPT FOR SCA/RA JSCHLOSSER DEPT FOR SCA/CEN MO'MARA CBP/INA FOR CDONOFRIO AND RWATT USDOE/NNSA CWALKER, TPERRY AND EDESCHLER DOC FOR DCREED AND GPETERSEN-BEARD USCG FOR BGOLDEN AMEMBASSY BERLIN FOR CUSTOMS ATTACHE AMEMBASSY TASHKENT, BISHKEK, BAKU, DUSHANBE AND ASHGABAT FOR EXBS ADVISORS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETTC MNUC PARM PREL KSTC KNNP KZ SUBJECT: EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR'S MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE (SEPTEMBER 2006) ASTANA 00000078 001.2 OF 003 ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: ¶1. Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program Advisor Larry Adkins concluded his temporary duty assignment with EXBS Astana on October 2. Larry's numerous and invaluable contributions to the EXBS office during his two-month-plus sojourn in Kazakhstan are highly appreciated. ¶2. September marks the EXBS program office's final month in the interim Embassy Branch Office facility. Beginning next month the program will operate from its office in the new embassy. ¶3. The EXBS program office took receipt of three new workstations in September. ¶4. EXBS Advisor Jim Kelly arrived in Astana on September 26 on a one-month TDY assignment. ¶5. EXBS program staff composed a letter from Ambassador Ordway to Kazakhstani Customs Committee Chairman Askar Shakirov to gauge his interest in the State Department's Voluntary Visitor Program. The letter was sent to Mr. Shakirov in late September; a response has not yet been received. ¶6. The US Customs and Border Protection survey of the Kazakhstani-Russian frontier scheduled for November 6-17 has been postponed until late spring or summer 2007. II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS CONDUCTED ¶1. September 6-8 - EXBS Advisors Larry Adkins and Andrew Offenbacher drove the office's Nissan Pathfinder several hundred miles east to Sherbakty and Kosak, two border posts in neighboring Pavlodar region, to assess customs and border control procedures, and evaluate inspection techniques and equipment. A report with a detailed summary of the findings is available upon request. ¶2. September 12-19 - Two contractors working on the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA) Second Line of Defense (SLD) program conducted surveys at seven ports of entry on Kazakhstan's border with Krygyzstan and Uzbekistan. The information from the survey will be used to develop a scope of work that will be used to guide the future installation of portal monitors at rail, vehicular and pedestrian crossings. On September 12, the EXBS Advisor met with the two SLD contractors, representatives from Kazakhstani Customs, and other interested parties to discuss the project. The SLD implementing arrangement was signed on May 5, 2006, after approximately four years of negotiations. The EXBS program office has been designated the embassy point of contact for the implementation stage of the SLD program and acts as a liaison between NNSA/SLD and Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee. ¶3. September 12 - EXBS Advisors Larry Adkins and Andrew Offenbacher met with General Alexei Artemchuk of Kazakhstan's Border Service to discuss the details of modular shelter and Ural truck procurements. ¶4. September 22 - EXBS Advisor joined Political / Economic Section Chief Deborah Mennuti for a meeting with Talap Sakhtapov and Alexandra Vozhakova of Kazakhstani Customs to discuss the SLD ASTANA 00000078 002 OF 003 project. ¶5. September 26 - Commonwealth Trading Partner's (CTP) Molly Pyle visited the EXBS program office to discuss the next days' meetings on the Administrative Enforcement (AE) project. The AE project was first proposed to Kazakhstan at a preparatory conference in July 2005, and aims to improve the knowledge and skills of government officials in investigating and taking administrative action on non-criminal export control violations. For several reasons--not the least of which was a change in CTP's local contractor--the project has not yet entered the implementation phase. ¶6. September 27-28 - AE project meetings were held in Astana, during which a preliminary agreement was reached on target dates for the project's four stages, including the development of the course materials and instructor training. Participants included CTP's Molly Pyle, several representatives from Kazakhstan's Customs Committee, a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, CTP's Kazakhstani subcontractor, and Vladimir Sidorenko of the Moscow-based Center on Export Controls. Mr. Sidorenko's participation in the meetings was particularly beneficial - his NGO was responsible for the customization of the materials for the AE and Product Identification Tool projects in Russia and this allowed him to provide many valuable insights. ¶B. TRAINING DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. None. ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. On September 12 the EXBS office granted surplus computer equipment and furniture valued at $14,610 to the Border Control Management Faculty of the Military Institute in Almaty. ¶2. Fast Response "Safe" Boat: replacement parts for a faulty air conditioning control card and a defective voltmeter were received by EXBS Astana in late September. The parts will be delivered to the Border Guard's Maritime Division in Aktau during the meeting there scheduled for October 10. ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE ¶1. October 3-5 - The Department of Energy/National Nuclear Administration's (DOE/NNSA) International Nonproliferation Export Control Program (INECP) will hold a workshop on export controls for biological research institutes. The workshop aims to help the institutes better understand and comply with Kazakhstan's export control regulations. Representatives of Kazakhstani nuclear enterprises will also attend the workshop; large companies such as Kazatomprom and the Ulba Metallurgical Plant will share their experience in implementing internal compliance programs with the less export-control savvy bio institutes. ¶2. October 10 - EXBS Regional Maritime Advisor Mike Taffe will join EXBS Program Coordinator Gulnara Abildaeva and EXBS TDY Advisor Jim Kelly for a meeting with Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard Division to discuss a range of maritime issues related to pending deliveries and procurements, as well as the maintenance of EXBS-provided assets, including the three 42-foot fast response "safe" boats provided to Kazakhstan by the EXBS program earlier this year. The team will also travel approximately 100 miles north of Aktau to the port of Bautino to visit the location of the three Safe Boats. ASTANA 00000078 003.2 OF 003 ¶3. October 9-10 - The Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) will host a two-day workshop in Almaty to discuss the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 in Central Asia and the Caucasus. ¶4. October 31-November 2 - The DOE/NNSA's INECP will conduct a regional Internal Compliance Program workshop in Almaty. ¶5. October 31-November 1 - EXBS Program Coordinator Gulnara Abildaeva will attend the second annual EXBS Program Workshop for Locally Employed Staff in Bratislava, Slovkia. ¶6. November 6-10 - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation Prevention Initiative (DTRA WMD-PPI) will conduct a "Combating WMD Proliferation at Maritime Ports" training. ¶7. Two $400,000 task orders for the procurement of four modular shelters and 11 high-clearance Ural trucks are in the process of being finalized. The items will be provided to Kazakhstan's Border Service. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY ¶1. The world's fifth nuclear-weapon-free zone was established in Central Asia on September 8, 2006 with the signing of a treaty by the foreign ministers of the five Central Asian states. ¶F. CASPIAN SECURITY INFORMATION ¶1. Please see paragraph C, item 2 and paragraph D, item 2 above. III. RED FLAG ISSUES. ¶1. None. The point of contact for this report is Andrew S. Offenbacher, EXBS Advisor, OffenbacherAS@state.gov, tel: +7(3172)70-21-00, ext. 2420; cell: +7(333)225-1156. MILAS