VZCZCXRO6163
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHTA #0924/01 0720219
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130219Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALMATY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4455
RUEAORC/US CUSTOMS SERVICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RHEBAAA/USDOE WASHDC//NNSA
RUEKJCS/JCS WASHDC
RUCQAAA/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0337
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 7426
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 7398
RUEHKB/AMEMBASSY BAKU 0640
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 1620
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 6907

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