VZCZCXRO5245
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHTA #2059/01 1630751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120751Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ALMATY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5715
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 0348
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 7616
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 7577
RUEHKB/AMEMBASSY BAKU 0688
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 1772
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 7001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ALMATY 002059 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR ISN/ECC PVANSON, ACHURCH, ACUMMINGS 
DEPT FOR EUR/ACE RBUCK 
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN JMUDGE 
CBP/INA FOR BWATT AND CDONOFRIO 
USDOE/NNSA TPERRY, CWALKER, EDESCHLER 
DOC FOR DCREED AND 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 
(MAY 2006) 
 
 
¶I. BROAD ITEMS OF INTEREST TO ADVISORS AND AGENCY MANAGERS: 
 
     ¶1. This is the office's final dispatch from Almaty. 
EXBS Kazakhstan will move to the Embassy Branch Office 
(EBO) in Astana the last weekend in June.  EXBS Program 
staff continues to make preparations for the move to the 
EBO, as well as for the subsequent move to the New Embassy 
Compound, which is expected to take place in early 
September 2006. 
 
     ¶2. A significant amount of time during this reporting 
period was spent preparing for and executing the 
Ambassador's two-day trip to Aktau to participate in the 
turnover ceremony for the Safe Boats and other activities. 
 
     ¶3. EXBS Kazakhstan completed the CAJE process for a 
new LES position - an EXBS Program Assistant; the position 
description is currently under review by the ISN/ECC EXBS 
Advisor Management Team. 
 
     ¶4. A TDY EXBS Advisor is expected to arrive in Astana 
in late June to assist the office with the busy and 
challenging move period and summer EXBS activities. 
 
II. COMPLETED ACTIONS FOR THE REPORTING PERIOD 
 
¶A. SITE ASSESSMENTS AND MEETINGS CONDUCTED 
 
     ¶1. X-RAY VAN REPAIR - Eleventh-hour problems dashed 
hopes that an inoperable x-ray van (one of two in 
Kazakhstan) at Kazakhstan's Kaplanbek port of entry could 
be repaired by a DOE maintenance team.  The DOE team 
arrived in early May to work on the x-ray vans in 
Uzbekistan, but was not authorized to visit Kazakhstan 
during this trip.  EXBS Kazakhstan received notification 
that Kazakhstan's van was broken and arranged for the 
Kazakhstanis to drive the van across the border to 
Uzbekistan's Gisht Kuprik port to allow the U.S. team to 
repair the Kazakhstanis' van there.  Unfortunately, the 
American team was denied permission to visit Gisht Kuprik 
by the Uzbek authorities and therefore could not perform 
the work on Kazakhstan's van. 
 
     ¶2.   SAFE BOAT TURNOVER CEREMONY - The May 18 ceremony 
to mark the donation of three forty-two-foot Fast Response 
Boats to Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard went off mostly 
without a hitch, although the Kazakhstani sailors' 
inability to efficiently unhitch a boat (and later smoothly 
return the boat to the dock) raised red flags about their 
competence.  During the ceremony Ambassador Ordway and 
regional Governor Krymbek Kusherbayev made brief speeches 
before cutting a ribbon and boarding one of the boats for a 
brief demonstration of its extraordinary agility in the 
water provided by its dual inboard jets.  The Ambassador 
participated in a brief press conference upon the 
conclusion of the ceremony. 
 
The three boats were manufactured by Safe Boats 
International of Port Orchard, Washington, and are worth 
almost $2 million.  They were provided by the EXBS Program 
through an interagency partnership with the U.S. Coast 
Guard.  The boats were selected for their stability, speed 
and range.  The ceremony represented a culmination of a 
multiple-year effort to provide Kazakhstan's Border Guards 
with a high-speed, highly maneuverable vessel for use on 
the Caspian Sea.  EXBS Kazakhstan will work in tandem with 
 
ALMATY 00002059  002 OF 004 
 
 
the EXBS Regional Maritime Advisor's office in Baku to 
ensure appropriate follow-on training and maintenance in 
the years to come. 
 
Other activities in which the Ambassador participated 
included: a tour of the U.S. Navy's renovation efforts at 
Kazakhstan's Naval Academy being carried out by the 
SeaBees; a visit to decommissioned BN-350 nuclear reactor; 
a meeting with Governor Kusherbayev; a briefing on the 
Border Service's radar system used to monitor their sector 
of the Caspian; and a visit to a regional trade show. 
 
     ¶3. ISN/CTR NUCLEAR SMUGGLING TALKS - On May 25, EXBS 
Advisor participated in the second round of talks in Astana 
devoted to all aspects of nuclear smuggling.  The initial 
discussions were held in February 2006 and included 
Kazakhstani officials from several agencies.  The second 
event saw wider participation from both the U.S. and 
Kazakhstani sides, and during the meeting a priority needs 
document was negotiated and tentatively agreed on; it will 
finalized only after it is reviewed by two Kazakhstani 
agencies that could not attend the meeting.  The nuclear 
smuggling initiative is being spearheaded by the State 
Department's Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction, and is 
active in several countries in the region. 
 
     ¶4. EXBS MARITIME REGIONAL OFFICE'S EFFORTS - At the 
end of May, Mike Taffe and Tarlan Gahramanova met with 
Kazakhstan's Maritime Border Guard in Aktau to discuss 
maritime training, boat maintenance and other issues. 
 
¶B.  TRAINING DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD 
 
     ¶1. May 13-26 - The Defense Threat Reduction Agency's 
International Counterproliferation Program conducted two 
one-week WMD Crime Scene Management Courses in Almaty and 
Astana. 
 
     ¶2. May 16-18 - Six Kazakhstani government officials 
from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Atomic Energy 
Committee, National Security Committee, and the Customs 
Committee attended and delivered presentations at the 
Central Asia and Caucasus Regional Forum on Export Controls 
in Tbilisi, Georgia.  Dauren Aben, the Director of the NGO 
Center for Nonproliferation Studies' NIS Representative 
Office in Almaty, was the seventh Kazakhstani delegate at 
the Forum. 
 
Chingiz Massenov of the Atomic Energy Committee delivered a 
presentation entitled "Risk Screening Methods: Pros and 
Cons" that was reportedly well received.  Sideline meetings 
included a discussion about Kazakhstan's possible future 
participation in the Tracker (license processing) software 
program. 
 
     ¶3. May 23-25 - The National Nuclear Safety 
Administration's International Nonproliferation Export 
Control Program (NNSA/INECP) conducted a seminar on export 
controls and internal compliance programs for nuclear 
industries in the South Kazakhstan and Kyzylorda regions. 
Both the organizers' comments and the EXBS Advisor's 
conversation with one of the Kazakhstani participants 
indicate a successful event. 
 
¶C. EQUIPMENT DELIVERED DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD 
 
 
ALMATY 00002059  003 OF 004 
 
 
     ¶1. SPARE PARTS FOR THE SEA ARK BOAT - A parts package 
for the Maritime Border Guard Division's Sea Ark boat worth 
$19,500 was delivered to the Caspian city of Aktau.  It was 
somewhat challenging to obtain customs clearance for the 
package as the regional customs department in has had 
little experience dealing with assistance shipments 
consigned to the embassy.  Nevertheless, the parts were 
eventually released to the Border Guard.  Mike Taffe, EXBS 
Regional Maritime Advisor, is currently working to identify 
a vendor capable of performing diagnostic tests and 
conducting maintenance on the ageing Sea Ark vessel. 
 
¶D. IMMINENT TRAINING OR EQUIPMENT STATUS UPDATE 
 
     ¶1. XRF METAL ANALYZERS - In Astana on June 14-15, 
NNSA/INECP will demonstrate the use of XRF metal analyzers 
and will deliver a training course for Kazakhstani customs 
inspectors and instructors.  XRF units are used to analyze 
metals and alloys to help determine whether they have a 
strategic use.  The training will be taught by experts from 
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and will be held at 
the Customs Control Committee's headquarters in Astana. 
Three XRF units worth $80,000 will be donated to 
Kazakhstan's Customs Control Committee upon conclusion of 
the training. 
 
     ¶2. END-USE/END-USER ANALYSIS WORKSHOP - The NNSA's 
INECP will hold a workshop on June 15-16 in Astana for 
export licensors from the Ministry of Industry and Trade 
and representatives of other agencies who review export 
licenses. 
 
     ¶3. SMALL BOAT OPERATIONS COURSE - This 2-week U.S. 
Coast Guard training is back on track after a period of 
uncertainty.  The training will be conducted from June 26- 
July 7 at the Maritime Border Guard Division's facility in 
Bautino on the Caspian, some 100 miles north of Aktau.  The 
delivery of this course is particularly timely in light of 
the recent arrival of the three Safe Boats.  It aims to 
familiarize students with procedures to be followed for the 
safe and effective operation of small boats. 
 
     ¶4. INTERNATIONAL BORDER INTERDICTION TRAINING (IBIT 1) 
- Logistical arrangements for this event are moving forward 
well.  All of the students' names (8 Border Guards and 8 
Customs Officers) have been submitted to the EXBS office, 
vetting requirements have been completed, and U.S. visa 
application instructions have been provided to the 
participants.  In addition to one week of training at the 
Mexican-U.S. border in Texas, the event will include a one- 
day visit to the U.S. Border Guard Academy in Artesia, New 
Mexico. 
 
     ¶5. MODULAR SHELTERS AND HIGH-CLEARANCE TRUCKS - EXBS 
Kazakhstan completed a SOW for the purchase of four of each 
of the abovementioned items and is waiting for Washington 
to approve and release the funds.  The modular shelters and 
trucks are to be used on Kazakhstan's border with Russia in 
the far northwestern corner of the country. 
 
¶E. SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN EXPORT CONTROLS, 
NONPROLIFERATION, OR RELATED BORDER SECURITY 
 
     ¶1. It took 49 months, but the Second line of Defense 
Implementing Arrangement for Kazakhstan was finally signed 
in Astana on May 5.  A National Nuclear Security 
 
ALMATY 00002059  004 OF 004 
 
 
Administration delegation will travel to Astana to discuss 
the locations, types of equipment/monitors, training, 
timeline and other issues related to the project's 
implementation.  The EXBS Program office in Kazakhstan has 
been assigned a coordinating role and has been asked to 
represent the embassy at these and future meetings. 
 
¶F. CASPIAN SECURITY INFORMATION 
 
     ¶1. Please see Section A, paragraph 2 and 4; Section C, 
paragraph 1; and section D, paragraph 3. 
 
III. RED FLAG ISSUES. 
 
     None. 
 
The point of contact for this report is Andrew S. 
Offenbacher, EXBS Advisor, OffenbacherAS@state.gov, tel: 
+7(3272)504945, cell: +7(333)225-1156. 
 
ORDWAY