DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VISIT A SUCCESS; NUCLEAR

UNCLAS DHAKA 001252 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG PREL KSCA PARM KNNP OTRA ETTC IN BG SUBJECT: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY VISIT A SUCCESS; NUCLEAR DEMARCHE DELIVERED REF: A. STATE 034761 ¶B. STATE 018365 ¶1. (U) Summary: The Department of Energy's visit to Dhaka was successful in moving forward on the Radiological Threat Reduction Program. After a two-year build up, contracts were signed at the Science Ministry, and a vendor has been hired to complete work. A demarche on the U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation was delivered to the BDG. ¶2. (SBU) On March 8, Department of Energy officials signed contracts with the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC) to provide security upgrades for locations that store high-grade radiological material. Under this agreement, the USG will purchase intrusion detection and monitoring equipment directly through a vendor, as part of the DOE's Radiological Threat Reduction program. Improvements to a reactor site and several hospitals will help ensure that material that could be used for "dirty bombs" is more secure. Initial assessments for this contract were completed in May 2004, but were halted due to severe bureaucratic ineffectiveness in the BDG. ¶3. (U) Charge and econoff accompanied the DOE team at the request of Abdul Moyeen Khan, Minister for Science and Information & Communication Technology, who was there with the Ministry's Secretary, Mian Mushtaque Ahmed. The Minister emphasized his role in cutting through the bureaucratic process of authorizing the agreement. ¶4. (SBU) The Minister and Secretary noted that they will contact the embassy about ways to increase the use of the Agreement on Scientific and Technological Cooperation between the USG and BDG, including additional training for scientists in the U.S. and a resident science fellow in Bangladesh. Minister Khan stated that the S&T Agreement was his "trick" in authorizing the DOE contract. The Minister commented separately that Bangladesh will never have the resources to use nuclear energy for anything but "for peaceful purpose." ¶5. (U) The Ministry invited media to cover the contract signing. In response to questions, the Charge noted that the DOE program was not at all related to recent terrorist arrests, or to nuclear agreements with India. Media sources erroneously reported that the agreement with Bangladesh was similar to the U.S. India nuclear agreement. ¶6. (U) A non-paper on the U.S.-India Civil Nuclear Cooperation Initiative was passed to Minister Khan and to C.S. Karim, Chairman of BAEC at the contract signing. No substantive comment was made. CHAMMAS