ALMATY. May 20 (Interfax-Kazakhstan) - The continuing efforts in nonproliferation make up the cornerstone of bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and the United States, deputy American ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Russel said in Almaty.
He said that Kazakhstan has been a world leader in the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction since it proclaimed independence. The results of bilateral cooperation in nonproliferation in only 10 years are very impressive, he said.
Two-week courses for 48 Kazakh border guards and customs officers were initiated in Almaty on Monday under the U.S. Defense Department's Internal Control Program (ICP). The training is being conducted by American experts.
According to the embassy, under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program, the sides have dismantled the infrastructures of Soviet nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs in Kazakhstan. Since 1993, a total of 104 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) have been withdrawn from Kazakhstan, while 147 missile silos were disposed of and 181 former nuclear tunnels were sealed off.
Russel noted that last week, the Kazakh Senate decided to prolong an agreement with the United States to dismantle ICBM silos, clear the aftermath of emergencies and prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms. He described the extension as Kazakhstan's timely contribution to general nonproliferation efforts.
As 10 years ago, Kazakhstan and the United States regard nonproliferation commitments very seriously, Russel said.
The main goals of the ICP are to train customs officers and border guards to discover, resist, identify, investigate and respond to illegal trading of weapons of mass destruction.
Next year under the IPC program, 97 Kazakh law enforcement officers will take part in additional one-week seminars on weapons of mass destruction, threat management, dual-purpose materials and investigative training.