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On 13 December 1993, Kazakhstan signed the Safe and Secure Dismantlement Act (SSD) and its five implementing agreements with the United States, making the first $85 million in Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) funding available to Kazakhstan.  This, and subsequent funds totaling $172.9 million as of 31 January 1999, were made available to Kazakhstan for the implementation of 10 CTR programs.  This section contains information on CTR funding and a description of each program in Kazakhstan.  Please see the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) web site, the Kazakhstan:  CTR Photo Gallery, or an August 1997 CTR brochure for more information on CTR programs in Kazakhstan. {Entered 7/17/00 KB} 
 
PROJECT STATUS

PROJECT	Status
Defense & Military Contacts	Active
Defense Enterprise Fund	Active
Emergency Response Training/Equipment	Completed
Export Control	Completed
Government to Government Communications Link	Completed
Industrial Partnerships (Defense Conversion)
International Science & Technology Center (ISTC)	Transferred to Department of State
Material Protection, Control & Accounting	Transferred to Department of Energy
Strategic Offensive Arms Elimination	Completed
Weapons of Mass Destruction Infrastructure Elimination	Active

[Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site, http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/ctr_kazakhstan.htm.] {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}

DEFENSE AND MILITARY CONTACTS
The $2.3 million Defense and Military Contacts program was designed to create partnerships between the military communities of the United States and Kazakhstan and to help Kazakhstanis understand civil-military relationships in the West. [1]  Types of activities that are funded through this program include the following: US Coast Guard team visit to Kazakhstan; US-Kazakhstani talks and Bilateral Working Group meeting in Washington, DC; US Air Force Academy visit to Kazakhstan Academy; Arizona Air National Guard visit to Kazakhstan; Kazakhstani participation in a disaster relief conference; and a Kazakhstani Navy visit to the US Coast Guard.[1,2]  Approximately 31 events totaling $1.5 million are scheduled for 2001.[2]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  p. 6. {Entered 7/27/2000 KB}
[2] "Defense and Military Contacts," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_defmil_contact.html {Entered 8/1/2002 YP}
 
DEFENSE ENTERPRISE FUND
The Defense Enterprise Fund (DEF) is a nonprofit US corporation that provides equity, loans, guarantees, and grants to Western companies and former Soviet defense enterprises to form commercially viable joint ventures.[1,2] The goal is to assist them in the conversion and privatization of excess military production capacity through financial assistance.  The DEF receives its funding directly from CTR grants.  The DEF allocated $3 million to Nursat, a telecommunications joint venture between AT&T/Lucent Technologies and Kazinformtelekom to convert a missile tracking station at Sary-Shagan into part of a national long distance phone network, and $3 million to KK Interconnect, a joint venture between Kras Corp. and the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan to manufacture printed circuit boards.  Both DEF projects expand on conversion begun under the Industrial Partnerships program.[1,2]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  p. 8.
[2]  US General Accounting Office, "Cooperative Threat Reduction: Status of Defense Conversion Efforts in the Former Soviet Union," GAO/NSIAD-97-101, GAO Website, http://www.gao.gov, April 1997, pp. 22-27. {Entered 7/27/2000 KB}
[3] "Defense Enterprise Fund," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_defent_fund.html {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
 
EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING/EQUIPMENT
The $5 million Emergency Response Training/Equipment program provided Kazakhstan with emergency response equipment and training to improve safety during the removal and dismantlement of nuclear weapons and launchers in 1995-1996.  Equipment provided by the program included portable radios, computers, protective clothing, dosimetry equipment, radiation detection equipment, radiological assistance program kits, an alpha spectrometer, and air sampling monitors.[1,2]  Most of the equipment was delivered before the end of 1997, and the last piece, a mobile radiation detection laboratory, was delivered in July 1999.[3]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  pp. 4-5.
[2] "Emergency Response Equipment/Training," CTR Website, http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/17frame.html. {Entered 7/27/2000 KB}
[3] "Emergency Response," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/
ctr_emergency_response.html {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
 
EXPORT CONTROL
The $7.26 million Export Control program provided training and assistance to set up export control regimes to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and materials.  The program also provided assistance in drafting legislation and building the political infrastructure to support and develop export controls.  The program provided Kazakhstani customs authorities with computers, customs lab equipment, radiation detection equipment, patrol vehicles, and patrol boats.[1,2]  In April 1997 an automated licensing system was installed at the Kazakhstani Ministry of Industry and Trade.[2]  Six patrol boats were provided to Kazakhstan by the United States under CTR export control assistance.  The navy will enforce national legislation and export controls in the areas of the Caspian Sea that fall under Kazakhstan’s jurisdiction.[2,3]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  p. 5.
[2] "Export Control," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_export_control.html. {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
[3] Tatyana Abramenko, "Stal li Kazakhstan morskoy derzhavoy?," Panorama, No. 32, 23 August 1996. {Entered 7/26/2000 KB}
 
GOVERNMENT TO GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS LINK
The $2.6 million Government to Government Communications Link program provided communications links between the Kazakhstani Ministry of Defense and the United States to support the START and Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaties.[1]  In October 1994 a 24-hour direct computer interim link between Washington, DC and Almaty was inaugurated by US Defense Secretary William Perry and Kazakhstani Defense Minister Sagadat Nurmagambetov.[2]  In May 1995 additional communications equipment, valued at $133,050, was delivered to Almaty.  One complete single channel link replaced the interim link in November 1995.[3,4]  The program was completed in July 1999.[4]
Sources:
[1] Cooperative Threat Reduction Website, http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/17frame.html.
[2] "United States, Kazakhstan Open Nuclear Link," United Press International, 13 October 1994.
[3] "Weapons Of Mass Destruction: DOD Reporting On Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance Can Be Improved," US General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Committees, GAO/NSIAD-95-191, September 1995, p. 13.
{Entered 7/26/2000 KB}
[4] "Government-to-Government Communication Link," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_gtog_commlink.html. {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
 
INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS (DEFENSE CONVERSION)
The $15 million Industrial Partnerships program (also known as the Defense Conversion program) helped convert components of Kazakhstan's military industrial complex to commercial enterprises by supporting joint ventures between Kazakhstani and US or Western companies.  On 19 March 1994, US Secretary of Defense William Perry signed the Defense Conversion Implementing Agreement, pledging up to $15 million to support conversion projects.[1]  On 17 December 1999 US Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Kazakhstani Minister of Defense Sat Tokpakbayev signed the Defense Cooperation Plan for 2000, which included an agreement to extend the existing Industrial Partnerships program.[2]  The Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA) of the US Department of Defense identified US/Western companies for the partnerships.  Of eight Kazakhstani defense enterprises identified by the US Department of Defense, the following four were funded by the Industrial Partnership program:
 
Nursat is an international and domestic wireless telecommunications joint venture between AT&T/Lucent Technologies and Kazinformtelekom (KIT) of Almaty.  The JV converted a former Soviet military satellite communications site at Sary-Shagan into an international telecommunications downlink.  On 20 January 1995, DSWA awarded $5 million to the Nursat, with AT&T/Lucent Technologies contributing the remaining $11.1 million.[1]  Nursat also received investment through the Defense Enterprise Fund.
 
Kamed is a joint venture between the former Biomedpreparat biological weapons facility in Stepnogorsk and Allen & Associates International (AAI) to manufacture vitamins, pharmaceuticals, and antibiotics.  On 23 March 1995, DSWA awarded $2.7 million to Kamed, with AAI contributing the remaining $3.0 million.[1]
 
KK Interconnect is a joint venture between Kras Corp. and the National Nuclear Center set up to manufacture printed circuit boards and consumer electronic devices at a former nuclear weapons testing and research facility in Kurchatov.  On 23 March 1995, DSWA awarded the joint venture $4 million, with Kras Corp. contributing the remaining $3.7 million.  KK Interconnect also received $3 million through the Defense Enterprise Fund (DEF).[1,3,4]  According to a Moscow Times article, half of the DEF money invested in KK Interconnect was not used for its intended purpose, but was used instead to pay another company's debts.  KK Interconnect was successful in creating a universal modem adapter, a product known as World Connect, but shipping costs from the company's remote Kazakhstani manufacturing location proved prohibitive.  KK Interconnect assembles Samsung televisions for the Kazakhstani market.[3]
 
Byelkamit is a joint venture between Byelocorp Scientific Inc. and Gidromash, a former producer of submarine-launched missiles, to manufacture pressure vessels and valves for the oil and gas industry in Almaty.  On 23 March 1995, DSWA awarded Belkamit $3 million, with Byelocorp Scientific Inc. contributing the remaining $3.3 million.[1]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  pp. 6-8.
[2] "U.S. and Kazakhstan Sign Defense Cooperation Plan for 2000," News Release of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, DefenseLINK Web Site, http://www.defenselink.mil:80/news/Dec1999/b12201999_bt580-99.html, No. 580-99, 20 December 1999.{Entered 7/27/2000 KB}
[3] Matt Bivens, "Investing, Pentagon-style," Moscow Times, 4 April 2001{Entered 4/20/2001 NA}
[4] "Defense Enterprise Fund," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/
ctr_defent_fund.html.{Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
 
INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CENTER (ISTC)
The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) is an intergovernmental organization established in 1992 by an agreement between the European Union, Japan, the Russian Federation, and United States.  Initial funding for ISTC came from the US State Department under the CTR Program.  Please see the ISTC entry in the Russia:  Other US Assistance section of the NIS Nuclear Profiles Database for information on ISTC's history.  From its headquarters in Moscow, ISTC provides weapons scientists from NIS countries with opportunities for redirecting their scientific talents to peaceful science.  In December 1995 Kazakhstan became a member of the ISTC and Kazakhstani Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade Vladimir Shkolnik was appointed ISTC representative for Kazakhstan.[1,2]  From 1995 to 2000, ISTC granted Kazakhstan $16 million for various research projects, including a $1 million project to decommission the BN-350 reactor at the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine (MAEK).[3]  See the Other US Assistance section of the NIS Profiles Database for information on the ISTC Branch Office in Almaty.
Sources:
[1] Bhavna Dave, "Kazakhstan Staggers Under Its Nuclear Burden," Transition, No. 12, 11/17/95.
[2] "ISTC Funds 19 More Projects; To Approve Additional Projects This Month," Post-Soviet Nuclear and Defense Monitor, 3/12/96, p. 4.
[3] "Kazakhstan Gets Grants from the International Science and Technology Center," Interfax, No. 1, 5 July 2000.] {Entered 7/28/2000 KB}
 
MATERIAL PROTECTION, CONTROL & ACCOUNTING (MPC&A)
US-assisted MPC&A activities have been ongoing at four facilities in Kazakhstan since 1993:  Ulba Metallurgical Plant, Ust-Kamenogorsk; the Baykal-1 and IGR reactor complexes at the Institute of Atomic Energy, Kurchatov; the BN-350 reactor at the Mangyshlak Atomic Energy Combine (MAEK), Aktau; and the Alatau Research Reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics.  For specific MPC&A activities at each site, click on the preceding links.
 
Congress has allocated a total of $23 million for Department of Defense MPC&A activities in Kazakhstan.  For information on Department of Energy MPC&A activities in Kazakhstan, please see the MPC&A section under Kazakhstan:  US DOE Programs.  For a breakdown of MPC&A funding between DOD and DOE from 1993-1998, see the MPC&A Strategic Plan, US Department of Energy, January 1998.
[Jim Mason, Presentation at NISNP Washington Intensive Nonproliferation Seminar, DOE Headquarters, 4 April, 2000.]{Entered 7/27/2000 KB}
 
STRATEGIC OFFENSIVE ARMS ELIMINATION INITIATIVE (SOAE)
The $76 million Strategic Offensive Arms Elimination Initiative provided for the dismantlement of 148 missile silos and facilities, the elimination of seven heavy bombers, and the elimination of ICBM fuel storage facilities.[1]  The Swedish-Swiss engineering company ABB and the Houston-based construction company Brown and Root were awarded $31 million of these funds on 23 February 1996 to complete final dismantlement of the silos.[2] Elimination of all bombers was completed in 1998.[3]  The dismantlement of all 147 silos was completed in September 1999.[4] Please see the Kazakhstan:  Nuclear Weapons section of the database for more information on the Strategic Offensive Arms Elimination Initiative.
Sources:
[1]"Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  pp. 1-2.
[2] Francis Williams, "Foreign Companies Will Help Kazakhstan Dismantle Missile Silos, Finansovyye Izvestiya, 23 February 1996, No. 20, p. 1. {Entered 7/28/2000 KB}
[3] "Strategic Bomber Elimination," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_strat_bomb.html.
[4] "SS-18 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Silo Elimination," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/project/projkaz/ctr_ss18_silo.html. {Updated 8/1/2002 YP}
 
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION INFRASTRUCTURE ELIMINATION INITIATIVE (WMDIE)
The $25.5 million Weapons of Mass Destruction Infrastructure Elimination Initiative included three projects:  (1) The Nuclear Testing Infrastructure Elimination (NTIE) Project, for the closure and sealing of 181 nuclear test tunnels at Degelen Mountain and 13 nuclear test holes at Balapan; (2) Project Sapphire; and (3) dismantlement of the Stepnogorsk Biological Weapons Production Facility.[1,2]  An agreement signed on 3 October 1995 by US Assistant Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and a member of the Kazakhstan Foreign Minister’s delegation, Kasymzhomart Tokayev, allocated $6 million of WMDIE funds to seal the Degelen Mountain tunnels.[3]
Sources:
[1] "Cooperative Threat Reduction Assistance to Kazakhstan," Stimson Center Nuclear Roundtable Website, http://www.stimson.org/rd-table/ctr-kaz.htm, 16 January 1997,  pp. 6-8.]
[2] "Nuclear Testing Infrastructure Elimination," Defense Threat Reduction Agency Web Site,  http://www.dtra.mil/ctr/ctr_kazakhstan.html.{Updated 9/12/2001 NA}
[3] "United States Gives Six Million to Kazakhstan to Close Nuclear Test Site," Post-Soviet Nuclear and Defense Monitor, 31 October 1995, p. 7.{Entered 7/28/2000 KB}