VZCZCXRO5191
OO RUEHIK
DE RUEHTA #2106/01 3361018
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 021018Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6941
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE 2210
RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1574
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2275
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 1209
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2224
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFAAA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC 1769
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC 1619
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHAST/AMCONSUL ALMATY 2046

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 002106 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, EEB/TRA/MA, S/EEE 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON EINV KZ
SUBJECT:  KAZAKHSTAN:  AMBASSADOR RAISES ABS CASE WITH DEPUTY PRIME 
MINISTER 
 
REF:  STATE 113967 
 
ASTANA 00002106  001.3 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Sensitive but unclassified.  Not for public Internet. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) SUMMARY:  In response to reftel, the Ambassador raised the 
issue of granting the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) official 
status as a recognized ship classification organization in 
Kazakhstan with Deputy Prime Minister Yerbol Orynbayev on November 
¶6.  Orynbayev immediately ordered the Ministry of Transportation and 
Communications (MOTC) to look into the issue.  On November 25, MOTC 
officials told Energy Officer that they approved the application 
from ABS and sent a draft decree to the Prime Minister on November 
24 for his signature.  The MOTC said it expects the Prime Minister 
to sign the decree by the end of this year.  END SUMMARY. 
 
BACKGROUND TO THE ABS CASE 
 
¶3.  (SBU) ABS is the only major ship classification society that the 
government of Kazakhstan has not recognized.  The government has 
recognized competitors from the UK, France, Norway, and Russia, 
which has led to their increasing market share and an unlevel 
playing field for ABS.  ABS has an office in Baku and a 
representative office in Almaty, but cannot expand operations in 
Kazakhstan without formal recognition. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In May, the Executive Secretary at the Ministry of 
Transportation and Communications (MOTC), Zhenis Kassymbek, 
acknowledged receipt of ABS's application for recognition, and 
informed ABS that it would be complete within "one or two months." 
Since then, ABS was told informally that the company's application 
was still pending, but proceeding accordingly. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) On September 11, ABS received an email from Kasym Tlepov, 
Chairman of Maritime Transport at MOTC, stating that the "draft of 
the ABS Recognition has been approved by various state bodies and is 
now under consideration by the government.  I cannot provide an 
estimated date of completion for Recognition."  However, MOTC 
informed ABS in October that the Ministry of Justice found a "small 
problem" with the application, but would not disclose specific 
details. 
 
AMBASSADOR RAISES ABS ISSUE WITH DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 
 
¶6.  (SBU) On November 6, the Ambassador briefly raised the issue 
with Deputy Prime Minister Orynbayev on the margins of an unrelated 
meeting.  That day, he also sent a letter describing ABS' 
difficulties to register as an official recognized ship 
classification society in Kazakhstan, and requesting that the 
government look into the matter.  On November 13, Kasym Tlepov, 
chief specialist of the Maritime Transportation Department at the 
MOTC, called Energy Officer to discuss the case.  Tlepov said the 
Ministry received a tasking from Orynbayev with instructions to 
report on the status of ABS' application.  He said that the Ministry 
was still reviewing the documentation, but did not anticipate any 
difficulties with ABS' request to become a recognized organization. 
 
 
ENERGY OFFICER MEETS WITH MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS 
 
¶7.  (SBU) On November 25, Kairiden Nurkenov, Head of Maritime 
Transportation at the MOTC, told Energy Officer that the Ministry 
endorsed ABS' application to become a recognized ship-classification 
organization and sent a draft decree to the Prime Minister on 
November 24 for his signature.  Nurkenov acknowledged that the MOTC 
received ABS' request in May, but denied any delay in processing the 
application.  He said the application was reviewed in accordance 
with standard business procedures, and that it took time to secure 
the approval of the Ministries of Energy and Mineral Resources, 
Economy and Budget Planning, Transportation and Communication, and 
Justice.  Nurkenov asserted he expects the Prime Minister to sign 
 
ASTANA 00002106  002.3 OF 002 
 
 
the decree "within the next two or three weeks."  (NOTE:  Nurkenov 
added that he is looking forward to the visit of USTDA country 
manager Scott Greenip in December and would like to discuss the 
possibility of USTDA assistance in vessel tracking and training for 
shipping crews and captains.  END NOTE). 
 
ABS GRATEFUL FOR USG SUPPORT, BUT REMAINS SKEPTICAL 
 
¶8.  (SBU) When informed that the MOTC had forwarded a draft decree 
to the Office of the Prime Minister, ABS country representative 
Vasily Svistak was grateful for Embassy assistance.  However, he 
told Energy Officer that the MOTC's Nurkenov reported by phone at 
the beginning of September that all government bodies approved a 
draft decree, which was sent to the Prime Minister for signature. 
When Svistak asked for a copy of the draft decree, Nurkenov declined 
to provide it.  According to Svistak, Nurkenov responded by phone 
two weeks later that the Ministry of Justice had the document to 
approve ABS's application, and it had not yet been delivered to the 
Office of the Prime Minister.  Svistak expressed his skepticism that 
the Prime Minister will sign the draft decree by the end of 2009, 
but he sincerely appreciated the Embassy's assistance. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT:  We have no reason to believe that ABS's 
application to become a Recognized Organization in Kazakhstan was 
sabotaged, sidetracked, or deliberately delayed.  We will continue 
to monitor the issue and will keep EEB and ABS apprised as the 
paperwork makes its way through the government's bureaucracy.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
SPRATLEN