Title: GORE, NAZARBAYEV EXPAND US-KAZAKH NUCLEAR AND DEFENSE COOPERATION (1000)
Date: 19971118 U
Text:
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By Rick Marshall
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States and Kazakhstan boosted their nuclear and defense cooperation significantly November 18, as Vice President Al Gore and Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed an Action Program on Economic Partnership and the Final Report of the fourth session of the U.S. Kazakhstan Joint Commission.
The signing took place at a special State Department ceremony in which U.S. and Kazakhstani officials signed 13 separate nuclear safety and defense cooperation agreements.
This was followed by the signing of two contracts to extract Kazakhstani oil. The first, which is for the Karachaganak field in northern Kazakhstan, groups Texaco with Lukoil, British Gas, and AGIP. The second is for the Caspian Sea shelf off Kashagan and groups Mobil, AGIP, Total, British Petroleum, Statoil, and Shell.
The Vice President opened the signing ceremony by praising the success that marked this session of the annual U.S.-Kazakhstan Joint Commission meetings. The agreements, which are listed below, carry U.S.-Kazakhstani cooperation "to an even richer level of cooperation," Gore said.
"The United States has pledged its full support" to help Kazakhstan continue its political and economic development, the Vice President said. "The United State values Kazakhstan as a close friend."
Gore pointed particularly to the significance of the Action Plan for Economic Partnership, the agreement to reduce the danger of the Aktau breeder reactor, and the accord to cooperate in combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
He also noted the "extensive commercial links" that have developed between U.S. firms which have invested in Kazakhstan. According to Gore's count, there are over 100 U.S. companies, with investments nearing $2 billion [$2,000 million] in the country.
The Vice President also expressed his satisfaction that Nazarbayev had made clear his support for an East-West transport corridor for Caspian Sea oil during their meetings.
For his part, Nazarbayev praised the U.S.-Kazakhstan Joint Commission for its "very fruitful work" and for expanding cooperation between the two countries. He also spoke of the "very useful dialogue" he has had with the Vice President during his stay in Washington. Following the ceremony, Nazarbayev was scheduled to meet with President Clinton for further discussions on energy policies, U.S. investment, and implementing economic change in Kazakhstan.
Energy Secretary Federico Pena, speaking in an interview following the signing ceremony, stressed the importance of Nazarbayev's agreement to back an East-West pipeline corridor to carry Caspian Sea oil through Azerbaijan, Georgia, and across Turkey to a terminus at Ceyhan.
This follows on the agreement a U.S. mission led by Pena reached with the leaders of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkmenistan earlier in the week.
"We see energy as the glue" which can help consolidate the independence and prosperity of the Caspian Sea and Caucasus region countries, Pena said. In addition, he acknowledged that the establishment of the East-West corridor will help ensure that Iranian influence in the region is minimalized.
Pena expressed great satisfaction with the two oil deals, which he said should yield "enormous" amounts of oil over the life of the contracts. He was particularly glad to see that the Russian firm Lukoil is participating, he said. "We want Russian companies to be involved."
Rose Gottemoeller, director of non-proliferation and national security at the Department of Energy, called particular attention to the agreement on safeguarding BN-350 nuclear material at Kazakhstan's Aktau reactor, a breeder reactor at the country's only nuclear power plant. Aktau has been a serious proliferation concern, she said, because of the way nuclear fuel has been stored and because of its proximity to the Iranian border.
The agreement signed today will "secure, stabilize, and store plutonium-bearing spent nuclear fuel assemblies currently in the Aktau reactor's core or its spent fuel pool, and alleviate a significant proliferation risk," according to a White House document released at the ceremony.
The Kazakhstani Ministry of Science-Academy of Science has also agreed that "the reactor will be shut down and decommissioned no later than the year 2003, eliminating it as a source of additional spent fuel," the document stated.
All in all, the agreement constitutes "a great non-proliferation victory," Gottemoeller said.
She said the United States is contributing $10 million this fiscal year to help Kazakhstan implement nuclear safety programs.
The 13 defense cooperation and nuclear safety agreements signed at the ceremony are:
-- Cooperation concerning peaceful uses of nuclear energy;
-- Annex to the agreement on scientific research and development and technology exchange programs for a cooperative program in nuclear safety;
-- Implementing arrangements concerning long-term disposition of BN-350 nuclear material;
-- Amendment to the agreement concerning control, accounting, and physical protection of nuclear material to promote the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation;
-- Concerning the establishment and operation of nuclear test seismic monitoring stations in Kazakhstan;
-- Between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Department of Defense of the United States of America concerning cooperation in the area of the prevention of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;
-- Plan of cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Department of Defense of the United States of America for 1998;
-- Joint statement on the exchange of information in the field of military environmental matters;
-- Extension of the agreement concerning provision to the Republic of Kazakhstan of emergency response equipment and related training in connection with the removal of nuclear warheads from the Republic of Kazakhstan for destruction and removal of intercontinental ballistic missiles and the destruction of their silo launchers;
-- Program of military contacts between the United States of America and the Republic of Kazakhstan for 1998; and
-- Between the Government of the United States and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan regarding cooperation and mutual assistance between their customs services.
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Product Name: WASHINGTON FILE
Document Type:
TEXT
Keywords: GORE; NAZARBAYEV; KAZAKHSTAN; 1b/rm/lf
Thematic Codes: 1B
Languages: ENGLISH
Originating Team: 97111811.GWE
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