The United States and Kazakhstan are deepening their partnership in the fight against nuclear smuggling. A multiagency delegation of U.S. officials met with their Kazakhstan counterparts in Astana on Sept. 8 and 9 to advance U.S.-Kazakhstan mutual efforts to counter nuclear smuggling, a goal both countries have highlighted at the Nuclear Security Summits in Seoul and The Hague. The meeting provided an opportunity to deepen the ongoing bilateral partnership in this area under the U.S.-Kazakhstan communiqué on improving Kazakhstan’s capabilities in combating nuclear smuggling, which the two countries signed in 2006. During the meeting in Astana, the sides agreed to cooperate more closely in Kazakhstan’s effort to develop a training curriculum on illicit trafficking at the Nuclear Security Training Centre, an initiative that President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. Specifically, U.S. and Kazakhstan officials discussed how to use ongoing and proposed training opportunities at the centre to strengthen national competencies in nuclear forensics, radiation detection and law enforcement investigations. In addition, the governments reviewed overall progress in implementing the 2006 communiqué across a broad range of cooperative activities to work with Kazakhstan to prevent, detect, and respond to nuclear and radiological material trafficking incidents.
The armies of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member states participated in the CIS Armies Championship, which began on Sept. 12 in Astana. The championship includes service pistol shooting and an officers’ triathlon. Opening the event, Major General Mukan Dyussenov called the event symbolic for the sports and military life of CIS member states’ armies. “These events serve as a bridge between CIS member states,” Dyussenov said, adding that applied military sports, including service pistol shooting and the officers’ triathlon incorporate the fundamentals of officership into sport. He wished all participants the best of luck in life and in their athletic endeavors. The head of the sports committee under the Council of the Defence Ministers of the CIS, Colonel Yerlan Talasbayev addressed the participants. Servicemen representing the armies of Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Kazakhstan competed in service pistol shooting and the officers’ triathlon. The purpose of the championship is to strengthen friendship and develop cooperation between the armies of the CIS states through sport, promote sport amongst servicemen and increase their professionalism. It should be noted that these events are also aimed at promotingsports and exchanging experience in training for world military athletics competitions. The championship lasted until Sept. 13.
President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed new ambassadors on Sept. 3. Daulet Batyrashev became ambassador of Kazakhstan to Romania. Bolat Nussupov was appointed Kazakhstan’sambassador to Germany. Beketzhan Zhumakhanov was appointed non-resident ambassador to Cambodia and Laos in addition to his residential ambassadorship to Vietnam. Later, Almas Abdramanov was appointed Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Kuwait. Dulat Kuanyshev was relieved of his duties as ambassador to India and appointed ambassador to Israel.
“Economic growth and an impressive growth in neurosurgery capabilities in Kazakhstan are why Astana was chosen as the venue for the 10th Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons,” Chairman of the Board of the National Scientific Centre of Neurosurgery Serik Aksholakov noted during a Sept. 10 briefing at the Central Communications Service (CCS). “I believe that today, the economic growth seen in Kazakhstan makes Astana an attractive host city for such an event. The increase in neurosurgery capabilities in Kazakhstan has become enough of a reason to choose Astana,” Aksholakov said. The 10th Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons was held in Astana from Sept. 9 to 12. “If we talk about the scale and significance of this congress, more than 700 participants from 50 countries were involved. This proves the importance of the congress. Astana has become a global platform for the discussion of neurosurgery,” the head of the Neurosurgery Centre said. The Asian Congress of Neurological Surgeons was founded in 1993 in Japan. It is held once every two years. Previously, the congress was held in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey.
