EXBS: KAZAKHSTAN ADVISOR'S MONTHLY REPORTING CABLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ASTANA 000094 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 (DECEMBER 2006) ¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: ¶1. Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee Chairman Askar Shakirov's proposed visit and draft itinerary to the United States under the Volunteer Visitor Program (VVP) has been approved in concept by DOS Public Affairs. Jeff Hartshorn suggested exploring the possibility of changing the visit from the VVP to the International Visitor Program (IVP). The IVP covers the entire cost of a U.S. visit whereas the VVP only covers expenses after the visitors have reached the U.S. After conferring with Public Affairs and other Embassy officers, it is understood that the funding for the IVP is programmed annually and not available for this visit. Additionally, it is understood from Public Affairs that the IVP is designed for mid-level officials rather than high-ranking officials such as Chairman Shakirov. Nonetheless, the EXBS Advisor will attempt to validate that the IVP alternative is truly not an option before dismissing the idea. This is a unique opportunity for the EXBS Advisor to spend an entire week one-on-one with the senior Kazakhstani Customs leadership and should not be missed. The next step is to meet with the Chairman in January, dates TBD, to discuss and lock in final itinerary details. ¶2. As the Kazakhstan bureaucracy has matured, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has become increasingly insistent on being the conduit for all international engagement activities. The MFA would like to formally be involved in the decision making process of all U.S. Government program activities. This includes approval of participants in various workshops, training events, conferences as well as requests for meetings, visits and exchanges. The MFA recently expressed dissatisfaction when coordination for engagement activities was completed without input from the MFA. The EXBS Advisor asks the supporting USG agencies take note of this and transmit requests through the MFA. Post of course encourages agencies to continue to communicate informally with their contacts. ¶3. Blue Lantern program, DOD, requested EXBS assistance in validating the location and serial numbers of all Night Vision Goggles (NVG) donated under the EXBS Program. 100% of all NVGs have been accounted for by serial number and location. All NVGs are operational except for one broken unit. This effort is closed. How to address the disposition of the damaged NVG is TBD. ¶4. Other administrative activities accomplished: Country clearance for Douglas Evans (DOC/CTP) Internal Control Program / Administrative Enforcement Instructor Training to be held in Pavlodar and Astana in January. Diplomatic Note requesting 18 names of Border Security officers for International Seaport Interdiction Training (ISIT) to be held in Charleston S.C. February 12-16, 2007. Diplomatic Note requesting participation of Ms. Gulnara Elegabayeva of the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Committee (KAEC) for DOE/NNSA meeting on nuclear export control to be help in Washington D.C. during the week of January 22, 2007. ¶5. Draft FY07 EXBS Budget plan was completed and presented to the Department in December. A thorough and comprehensive analysis of Kazakhstan's needs and USG goals was considered and incorporated into the draft. As the plan is a draft, there is still work to be done and decisions to be made on what D.C. is willing to support. All proposed initiatives have been prioritized and the EXBS Advisor and staff are prepared to discuss specifics upon request. ¶6. Tracker Program status. After lengthy dialog with Ms. Dina ASTANA 00000094 002 OF 005 Akpanbaieve, head of export / import licensing department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, further effort on the U.S. Tracker Program is no longer desired. Kazakhstan has developed its own licensing system which has already been fielded. No further action on the U.S. Tracker Program is anticipated. Unless the Department requires formal closure to the Tracker Program initiative, this message will mark the close of this program. ¶7. Second Line of Defense (SLD). Erik Deschler (DOE),SLD Portal Monitor Program Manager, requested permission in December to conduct late stage site assessments at projected installation sites. This program has been underway for several years and is nearing fruition; however, the Kazakhstani Customs Control Committee insists that a contract between AHTNA, DOE's program implementation contractor, and the Kazakhstani implementing contractor be signed before any further site assessments take place. Until then, permission to conduct further surveys will be postponed. It should be noted that the Kazakhstani government appreciates this program. However the Customs implementing contractor, with whom AHTNA will contract, has already incurred significant expense without a signed contract. Unless there is other information the EXBS Advisor is not privy to, the Customs Committee's request for a contract appears reasonable. The situation has been communicated to Erik Deschler and the status on the contract and appropriate way-forward will be established in early January. ¶8. Two donated X-Ray vans. Kazakhstani Customs has requested that the two X-Ray vans receive maintenance. The estimated cost for this is undetermined. The problem is the units will not turn "on." Without an experienced technician's evaluation it is not known whether the problem is a major or minor problem. The EXBS Advisor has recommended to DOE/NNSA (Laural Cotton) that if old funding monies are available perhaps a periodic maintenance analysis can be planned. ¶9. Fiberscope Repair. Kazakhstani Customs awaits a decision from EXBS on plans to repair 7 broken fiberscopes. Carla D'Onofrio, HLS/CBP, is the point of contact on this to determine whether there is old money budgeted for these repairs or the cost must be factored into the FY07 plan. EXBS Advisor will make contact with Carla on the best way-forward. II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS CONDUCTED ¶1. No site assessments were conducted during December due to the holiday season and a multitude of other engagement activities previously scheduled. Beginning in January 2007, EXBS has set aside one week each month for the entire year to conduct border site assessments on all Kazakhstani borders (Annual EXBS calendar forwarded to Jeff Hartshorn and updated weekly). ¶2. As of the end of December, Baku-based EXBS Regional Maritime Advisor Mike Taffe continues to report that planned hull anti-fouling paint and winterization for the three donated SAFE boats in Aktau, Kazakhstan did not occur - specifics for the delay are still not known. A new date for the painting and winterization is yet to be determined. EXBS advisor Mike Seguin will make contact with Mike Taffe to better understand the state of the SAFE Boat program. A tentatively planned joint Office of Military Cooperation / EXBS meeting with MoD and Border Guard officials may take place week of January 8 in Aktau to address specific areas of concern ASTANA 00000094 003 OF 005 regarding the SAFE boat project, noted in the October report. However, unless a clear way forward is planned to address the Safe Boat maintenance issues, EXBS will not participate in this event. ¶3. At USAID's invitation, EXBS staff attended and presented the EXBS program to a USAID Conference held in Almaty December 6-8 on Central Asian Customs and Border Control issues entitled Trade Facilitation and Investment Project. EXBS Advisor Mike Seguin briefed the international Central Asian Customs community on EXBS Program initiatives and participated in anti-corruption breakout sessions. The conference was of value in that it brought together all Customs entities (mid- and senior- level managers) from throughout Central Asia to discuss and brainstorm methods of enhancing, among other things, control of customs procedures to prevent the proliferation of WMDs. ¶4. Also during the week of December 4, the EXBS office met with the International Organization of Migration (IOM) in Almaty. IOM has supported INL with procurement services and equipment distribution much like LATA is presently doing with EXBS's purchase and delivery of portable shelters and Ural trucks. The meeting was of value in that IOM could be a potential resource for similar future EXBS initiatives. IOM also has indicated a desire to participate in the EXBS site assessment and training schedule in an attempt to lessen the burden on Kazakhstani Customs and Border Guard activities by packaging visits together. IOM also focuses on training the Customs and Border Guard on effective passport control methods - a program geared, among other things, to detect potential signs of illegal trafficking (including WMDs). ¶5. December 15 EXBS team met with the Military Institute. This is the academy where the National Security Services are trained (KNB - former KGB). This is also where the Border Guard security services train their junior leadership. This was a unique opportunity to introduce the EXBS program to the people who have the responsibility for institutionalizing training across Kazakhstan. It would be in the EXBS program's best interest to cultivate a relationship with this organization to standardize both border security doctrine and perhaps more important to help develop an Inspector General (IG) inspection program that ensures standards are known and maintained uniformly throughout the country. The commanding general was out of the office during the visit, but his deputy and staff thought it worthwhile to explore further the idea of engagement with the EXBS Program. The EXBS Advisor offered to come back and present to the General the EXBS Program and discuss areas of previous engagement and potential areas for future engagement. The value of this meeting cannot be overstated as it is very difficult to establish comprehensive dialogue with this organization. It is noteworthy that INL has already taken the first steps in establishing an exchange program with the Military Institute; EXBS should consider following suit. Also while there, EXBS proposed that representatives from the Military Institute's Border Guard section be included in the planned February ISIT training to be held in Charleston, South Carolina. ¶B. TRAINING DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. December 4-8 EXBS office attended DOE WMD Commodity Identification Workshop in Almaty conducted by a team of 4 and led by Chris Walker. In attendance were representatives from Customs, Border Guard, Nuclear Safety Center, and Ministry of Industry and Trade, among others. The workshop focused primarily on Nuclear Commodity Identification, but also touched on Biological and ASTANA 00000094 004 OF 005 Chemical materials. This event focused on all aspects of WMDs and was well conducted and received. The participants recommended continuing with this format. One comment the workshop attendees particularly focused on was the need for support of a Technical Information Center. This initiative should be explored in the future and has been proposed in the FY07 EXBS Program Budget. ¶2. December 14-15 - The Department of Commerce/Commonwealth Trading Partners (CTP) conducted an extremely well done Internal Control Program (ITP) workshop along with the Kazakhstani non-governmental organization Business Info. This workshop was a follow-on to November's training in Astana geared toward orienting various Kazakhstani agencies - most notably the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoI&T) - with customized Kazakhstani software for use in commodity identification. This software will be used to support Kazakhstan's industry outreach efforts and standardize the method used for Nuclear Commodity Identification. Ms. Dina Akpanbayeva again indicated a need for other related support in both hardware / software including focus on Biological and Chemical commodities in the future. Also discussed was the desire for a web-based solution to facilitate industry outreach. The EXBS budget subsequently proposed a portion of the FY07 funding be allocated to this end - pending assessment and approval by D.C. ¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD ¶1. No equipment delivered during this reporting period. ¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE ¶1. Dip note sent to the MFA in November for dates for DOE to conduct installation and necessary software upgrades to 3-each portable X-ray Florescence (XRF) Metal Analyzers used at various border locations. Customs responded in December with a request for names and dates of those proposing to conduct the upgrades. DOE was contacted, and the requested information will be provided by mid-January. ¶2. EXBS office continues with the preliminary planning stages for USCBP sponsored 5-day ISIT training event to be held February 12-16 in Charleston, S.C. for 18 mid-level and senior Border Guard officers. Purpose is to conduct training (Train-the-Trainer) in "Hands-On" Interdiction techniques and practices. Also invited was representation of the Kazakhstani Military Institute. Presently the EXBS staff is coordinating all logistics and administrative issues (i.e. visas, tickets, lodging). ¶3. EXBS Advisor invited to attend World Customs Organization sponsored anti-corruption conference in Almaty January 17-19. ¶4. January 16-25 Douglas Evans (DOC/CTP) with Business Info will conduct Internal Control Program / Administrative Enforcement Instructor Training to be held in Pavlodar and Astana in January. ¶5. Site assessment week planned for January 20-25 on south Kazakhstan region (Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan Border). ¶6. Annual Export Control System Questionnaire scheduled for submission to the MFA second week of January. First, must validate the currency of the existing questionnaire with EXBS D.C. ¶7. EXBS staff planned introductory meetings in January with leadership of Border Guard, Customs, Ministry of Industry and Trade ASTANA 00000094 005 OF 005 and Ministry of Foreign Affairs after approval of the FY07 budget is received from D.C. ¶8. Portable Shelters and Ural Trucks (LATA T.O. 79). EXBS provided LATA with points of contact and names of Border Guard officials to facilitate the shipment of T.O. 79 donations. There are still a number of minor issues to resolve in the logistics of this rather complicated and significant transfer, which is projected to happen in late February or early March. The EXBS office will continue to closely monitor the details of this project throughout the month of January and update D.C. as required. ¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY ¶1. Nothing other than relayed above. ¶F. CASPIAN SECURITY INFORMATION ¶1. Nothing other than relayed above. III. RED FLAG ISSUES. ¶1. None. MILAS