USA and Kazakhstan signed coop protocol on prevention of illicit trafficking in nuclear materials

12:15, 29 October 2009

ASTANA. October 29. KAZINFORM On October 29, at 17:00 in the U.S. Embassy in Astana, Deputy Chairman Serzhan Duisebayev of the Customs Control Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Deputy Director Eleanor Melamed of the Second Line of Defense Program for the U.S. Department of Energy will sign a protocol on cooperation in the prevention of illicit trafficking in nuclear materials. This step forward in the fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is another example of the strong and growing strategic partnership that exists between Kazakhstan and the United States.

U.S. Department of Energy and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Finance have been working together on the prevention of illicit trafficking in nuclear materials since 2006, and today's signing ceremony underlines the success of these cooperative efforts. Under today's agreement, the U.S. Department of Energy will continue to provide assistance that will strengthen Customs Control Committee capabilities in the detection and prevention of illicit trafficking in nuclear and radioactive materials.

From 2006- 2009, Kazakhstan installed this high-tech Russian radiation detection equipment at twelve of its border customs posts. Six more posts will receive radiation portal monitors by the end of 2010, and thirty posts will be fully equipped by the end of 2015.

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