Newly Independent States Nonproliferation Program Holds Annual Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 16-17 November 1998

The Newly Independent States Nonproliferation Program (NISNP) of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies held its annual conference in the former Soviet Union in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 16-17 November 1998.  The conference brought together over 90 participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.  Others attending included nonproliferation experts from the United States, China, and South Korea, as well as senior officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
 

Participants of the 1998 NISNP Annual Conference gathered outside the building of the Minstry of Science - Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The conference focused on the topic of “Proliferation Problems and Nonproliferation Initiatives: Approaching the 21st Century.” Panels at the conference addressed the implications of the South Asian nuclear tests, issues surrounding the creation of a Central Asian nuclear-weapons-free zone, nuclear safety at former Soviet facilities, and chemical and biological weapons issues. The conference received extensive media coverage in Central Asia and Russia and several participants--including CNS Director Dr. William Potter and NISNP Director Dr. Clay Moltz--provided interviews that appeared on television, radio, or newspapers.
 

Professor William Potter, CNS Director, addresses conference participants at the opening banquet

 
This year’s meeting marked the first time that the CNS has brought members of its new East Asia Nonproliferation Program core group (consisting of recent Chinese alumni of the nonproliferation training program at CNS) together with members of its already extensive core group from the former Soviet Union. At a reception during the conference, the CNS officially inaugurated its new NIS branch office in Almaty, which was opened in August 1998 by on-site NISNP staff members Martin Daughtry and Emily Ewell Daughtry.

The building housing the CNS NIS Branch Office, 15 Ploshchad Respubliki (Square of the Republic), Almaty, Kazakstan.
(the office is located behind the two lower right-hand windows)

Other CNS staff attending the conference included NISNP Senior Scholar-in-Residence Dr. John Lepingwell, Senior Scientist-in-Residence Dr. Raymond Zalinskas, and Senior Research Associate Dr. Scott Parrish. NISNP Program Coordinator Sheri Deeter also helped in the organization of the meeting from Monterey.