·         the Export Control and Related Border Security Assistance program, which works with Tajik export control officials, customs, and border guards to combat transshipments and exports of WMD, illegal dual-use technology items, and other border security violations;

·         the International Military Education and Training Program, which helps facilitate greater professionalism through reform of the armed forces; and

·         U.S. nonproliferation assistance for former weapons scientists from Tajikistan through the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow.[1]

Editor’s Note: Under an October 2004 bilateral Russian-Tajik agreement, Russian border troops had to turn over responsibility for the Tajik-Afghan border by the end of 2005. The transfer was completed in June 2005. A Russian task force will remain in Tajikistan, however, and Russian military advisors will continue to work with Tajik border guard detachments.[2,3] As of June 2005, the Tajik border guards number about 15,000.[4] They are currently headed by Colonel General Saidamir Zukhurov, a former Soviet KGB official who has served as chair of the Tajik National Security Committee, interior minister, and security minister.[4,5]

Sources:
[1] “U.S. Assistance to Tajikistan — Fiscal Year 2005,” U.S. Department of State Fact Sheet, 17 August 2005, U.S. Department of State website, <http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/fs/51370.htm>.
[2] “Russia Transfers New Tajik-Afghan Border Sections under Tajik Control,” ITAR-TASS, 12 May 2005; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[3] “Security on Tajik-Afghan Border Unchanged After Russian Handover – Official,” ITAR-TASS, 23 May 2005; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[4] Igor Plugatarev, “Okhrana rubezha po Pyandzhu ne oslabnet” [The protection of the border on the Pyanj river will not weaken], Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye [Independent Military Review, analytical supplement to Nezavisimaya gazeta] online edition, No. 20 (429), 3 June 2005, <http://nvo.ng.ru/forces/2005-06-03/1_ohrana.html>.
[5] “Tajik Border Chief, Afghan Deputy Minister Discuss Security,” Avesta website; BBC Worldwide Monitoring, 10 September 2005; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
This item originally appeared in International Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/observer/index.htm>. {Entered 10 May 2006 SR}

3 December 2004: TAJIK GOVERNMENT APPROVES STATUTE ON RADIATION SAFETY
On December 3, 2004, Chairman of the Government of Tajikistan Emomali Rakhmonov signed a government decree approving the statute On State Regulation in the Field of Radiation Safety. According to the statute, the Agency for Nuclear and Radiation Safety under the Tajik Academy of Sciences is designated a state regulatory authority in the field of radiation safety. As such, the agency will assess radiation safety of industrial facilities; license activities related to the use of radioactive sources; monitor compliance with relevant regulations; certify personnel handling radioactive sources; conduct inventory checks of radiation sources, including control over radioactive waste; and engage in international cooperation in the field of radiation safety, including with the International Atomic Energy Agency. In exercising its powers, the Agency for Nuclear and Radiation Safety will coordinate its activities with a number of Tajik state agencies, including the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Security, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency and Civil Defense, Ministry of Industry, Committee on State Border Protection, State Sanitary and Epidemiological Service of the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Public Revenues and Taxes, State Committee on Environmental Protection and Forestry, and Committee on State Oversight of Labor Safety in Industry and Mining. The statute provides for the creation of an interagency council on radiation safety that will review issues related to ensuring the country’s radiation safety. The government decree requires the Agency for Nuclear and Radiation Safety to submit within three months a draft statute on the interagency council on radiation security and suggestions for its composition.
Source:
Text of the Statute On State Regulation in the Field of Radiation Safety adopted by Decree of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan No. 482 of 3 December 2004, provided to CNS by a Tajik official.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

November 2004: U.S. TEAM VISITS TAJIKISTAN TO ASSESS RADIOLOGICAL SECURITY
A delegation from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) visited Tajikistan in November 2004 to collaborate with Tajik officials from the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Office at the Academy of Sciences on improving radiological security in the country. The U.S. officials assessed a completed two-year project designed to enhance radiological security at Tajikistan’s nuclear waste repository and signed contracts for two new projects to supplement previous security initiatives in the Dushanbe area. The projects are part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI), launched in May 2004.[1]

Editor’s Note: The mission of the GTRI is to remove and/or secure high-risk nuclear and radiological materials and equipment around the world that pose a threat to the United States and to the international community. To carry out the GTRI, DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration seeks to consolidate and accelerate the DOE’s nuclear materials removal efforts, and complete a comprehensive inventory of research reactors and vulnerable nuclear materials worldwide to rapidly identify and address any gaps in current security coverage and recovery or removal efforts.[2]
Sources:
[1] “U.S. Department of Energy Delegation Furthers Collaboration with the Government of Tajikistan,” U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan press release, 19 November 2004, <http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/wwwh191104doe.html>.
[2] “Department Of Energy Launches New Global Threat Reduction Initiative,” U.S. Department of Energy press release, 26 May 2004, <http://www.energy.gov/engine/content.do?PUBLIC_ID
=15956&BT_CODE=PR_PRESSRELEASES&TT_CODE=PRESSRELEASE>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>..

August 2004: INTERNATIONAL TEAM ASSESSES CONTROL ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER
An international team comprised of representatives from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the embassies of Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and drug control agencies from Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, met in Tajikistan in mid-August 2004 to assess that country’s border and customs services performed in the Mountainous Badakhshon Autonomous Region, which borders Afghanistan. The group, created at the initiative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, will make recommendations aimed at raising overall standards, making sure the checkpoints have necessary equipment to prevent smuggling, and improving the skill of border control personnel. According to Sergey Bozhko, the program coordinator of the UN drug mission to Tajikistan, the group will travel from Badakhshon to the Langar section of the border, patrolled by the Ishkoshim border detachment, and on to the Khatlon Region, patrolled by the Panj and Moskva detachments.
Source:
Asia-Plus, 18 August 2004; in “International Group to Check State of Control on Tajikistani-Afghan Border,” FBIS Document CEP20040818000173.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>..

March 2004: NUCLEAR SMUGGLER ARRESTED IN TAJIKISTAN 
On 15 March 2004, Tajik law enforcement authorities seized a capsule filled with plutonium from a 50-year-old resident of Ferghana, Uzbekistan. According to Avaz Yuldashev, head of the press service of the Tajik Drug Control Agency (DCA), the detainee had been suspected of dealing drugs, and was arrested in Dushanbe during a joint DCA and Tajik Ministry of Security operation.[1,2] Allegedly the capsule was made in Russia and contained 3 grams of plutonium.[3] A Tajik nuclear physicist told CNS that the material involved was a “plutonium-beryllium neutron radiation source,” which contains “a mix of plutonium isotopes.”[4] According to DCA officials, the suspect was attempting to sell the material to an Afghani and a Pakistani in Dushanbe, but one of the two informed the local police.[3]

Tajik authorities have detained two suspected accomplices in the case and are conducting an investigation in cooperation with IAEA officials to try to learn how the trader obtained the radioactive substance.[1,2,5]

Editor’s Note: Initial reports of cases such as this sometimes do not accurately reflect key technical points, such as the precise nature of the material in question. Plutonium-beryllium (Pu-Be) neutron sources can either use plutonium-239 or plutonium-238 because both of these isotopes emit alpha particles which interact with beryllium to generate neutrons. Pu-Be sources used in well-logging applications typically employ Pu-238, which is not useful for nuclear weapons. However, 3 grams of Pu-238 could fuel a potent “dirty bomb.” Pu-Be sources used to produce neutrons for applications other than well-logging tend to use Pu-239 as the principal plutonium isotope in a mixture containing small amounts of other plutonium isotopes. Assuming that all 3 grams of the plutonium were Pu-239, which is the isotope useful for nuclear weapons production, there would still be only a minuscule amount of plutonium available from the Pu-Be source that could be used in a nuclear weapon. A nuclear weapon would typically require several kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium.
Source:
[1] “V Tadzhikistane u grazhdanina Uzbekistana izyata kapsula s plutoniyem” [Capsule filled with plutonium seized from Uzbekistani citizen in Tajikistan], RIA Novosti, 15 March 2004; in Integrum Techno, <http://www.integrum.com>.
[2] “Zaderzhan kontrabandist s plutoniyem” [Plutonium smuggler detained], 18 March 2004, Khovar news agency (Tajikistan), <http://khovar.tojikiston.com/index.php?CatID=4&id=3828>.
[3] “V Tadzhikistane u podozrevayemogo v narkotorgovle nashli oruzheynyy plutoniy” [Weapons-grade plutonium seized from suspected drug dealer in Tajikistan], Agentstvo Biznes Novostey [Business News Agency], 15 March 2004; in Integrum Techno, <http://www.integrum.com>.
[4] CNS correspondence with Tajik nuclear physicist, 29 March 2004.
[5] “V Tadzhikistane zaderzhan grazhdanin Uzbekistana, u kotorogo izyato 3 gramma pererabotannogo plutoniya, kotoryy on namerevalsya prodat” [3 grams of reprocessed plutonium intended for sale was seized from detained Uzbek citizen in Tajikistan], RFE/RL Russian Service, 15 March 2004; in Integrum Techno, <http://www.integrum.com>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

July 2003: TAJIKISTANI NEWSPAPER DETAILS COUNTRY'S RADIOACTIVE SOURCE AND WASTE MATERIAL
A 25 July 2003 article in Vecherniy Dushanbe, a prominent independent Russian-language newspaper based in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, provided details on radioactive waste and source materials throughout the country. The article noted that rumors about possible radiation threats had circulated in the capital following a 12 December 2002, Khovar information agency report on a meeting between officials from the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and representatives of the Tajikistani Academy of Sciences. The report indicated that meeting participants discussed draft legislation on creating a nuclear and radiation safety body in Tajikistan and also the provision of financial assistance by the United States and the IAEA. Since Tajikistan possesses neither weapons of mass destruction nor nuclear facilities, the meeting raised questions as to why these officials were paying attention to Tajikistan and whether the public was exposed to radiation threats.

According to the most recent survey conducted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Tajikistan has 34 uranium tailing sites filled with 210 million tons of radioactive and toxic waste. Of these, 80% are from uranium mining activities. Of 22 other waste sites, 11 contain radioactive material. Only six of the 22 sites have been sealed off and shut down. The state waste site for liquid and solid radioactive waste in Fayzabad Rayon, established during the Soviet era, contains used radiation sources, including retired medical equipment. At present, Tajikistan has five operational radiation treatment machines, 54 radiochemical sources, and 735 diagnostic machines. Environmentalists in Tajikistan note that today industries and organizations store their own radioactive waste, which poses a threat to the surrounding population.[1]

Editor’s Note: In July 2003, Tajikistan and the IAEA signed an agreement on the Application of Safeguards Related to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and an Additional Protocol to this agreement.[2,3] According to the agreement, the Republic of Tajikistan accepted safeguards with regard to all source or special fissionable material in all peaceful nuclear activity within its territory, under its jurisdiction, or carried out under its control, wherever the activity takes place, exclusively in order to verify that this material is not used in nuclear weapons programs or for production of other nuclear explosive devices.[3,4,5] With the signing of the safeguards agreement, Tajikistan has been brought into compliance with its NPT obligations. Tajikistan became a party to the NPT on 17 January 1995. It was required by the terms of the NPT to conclude a safeguards agreement within 18 months. The Academy of Sciences was tasked by the government of Tajikistan to be the contact organization with the IAEA. The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Agency established within the Academy of Sciences is expected to become a regulatory authority on radioactive material and waste safety, control, storage, and disposal.[6]
Sources:
[1] “Chto vazhno znat v Tadzhikistane, tomu kto ishchet OMU?” [What someone seeking WMD in Tajikistan should know], Vecherniy Dushanbe, 25 July 2003, No. 30 (294), p. 7.
[2] Galina Gridneva, "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE podpisali soglasheniye o vzaimnykh garantiyakh v svyazi s Dogovorom o nerasprostranenii yadernogo oruzhiya" [Tajikistan and the IAEA signed an agreement on mutual safeguards related to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons], Official website of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, July 7, 2003, <http://www.minatom.ru/presscenter/
text.php?ssd=19077.txt>.
[3] "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE: podpisano soglasheniye" [Tajikistan and the IAEA: agreement signed], Khovar information agency, 7 July 2003, <http://khovar.tojikiston.com>.
[4] "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE podpisali dogovor po yadernomu vooruzheniyu" [Tajikistan and the IAEA signed an agreement on nuclear weapons], Khabar Kyrgyz national information agency, 8 July 2003, <http://www.kabar.kg/03/Jul/08/95.htm>.
[5] For more information, see “Tajikistan and IAEA Sign Safeguards Agreement,” NIS Export Control Observer, August 2003, pp. 10-11, CNS website, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.
[6] Presentation by Tajikistani official at regional seminar “Strengthening Export Controls of Nuclear Transfers in Kazakhstan,” Almaty (Kazakhstan), 22-24 September 2003.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

July 2003: TAJIKISTAN AND IAEA SIGN SAFEGUARDS AGREEMENT
In July 2003, Tajikistan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) signed an agreement on Application of Safeguards Related to the Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and an additional protocol to this agreement.[1,2] According to the agreement, signed by Tajikistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Talbak Nazarov and IAEA representatives, the Republic of Tajikistan accepted safeguards with regard to all source or special fissionable material in all peaceful nuclear activity within its territory, under its jurisdiction, or carried out under its control, wherever the activity takes place, exclusively for the purpose of verification that this material is not used in nuclear weapons programs or other nuclear explosive devices.[2,3] [Editor’s Note: According to Item 3 of Article XX “Definitions” of the Statute of the IAEA, the term "source material" means uranium containing a mixture of isotopes occurring in nature; uranium depleted in the isotope 235; thorium; any of the foregoing in the form of metal, alloy, chemical compound, or concentrate; any other material containing one or more of the foregoing in such concentration as the Board of Governors shall from time to time determine; and such other material as the Board of Governors shall from time to time determine. According to Item 1 of Article XX, the term "special fissionable material" means plutonium-239; uranium- 233; uranium enriched in the isotopes 235 or 233; any material containing one or more of the aforementioned; and such other fissionable material as the Board of Governors shall from time to time deter mine; the term "special fissionable material" does not include source material.][4] The IAEA pledged not to interfere with Tajikistan's use of nuclear materials for peaceful purposes or its international cooperation in the field of peaceful nuclear activities. In addition, in accordance with the agreement, the IAEA will comply with the existing regulations on health protection, security, and physical protection, and take all measures to protect commercial, technological, and industrial secrets, and other confidential information.[2] The issue of developing cooperation with the IAEA was raised last year during a 12 December 2002 meeting of Tajikistani Deputy Prime Minister Faridun Mukhiddinov with representatives of the U.S. Department of Energy, regional project manager Mehri Sohrabi from the IAEA Department of Technical Cooperation, and representatives of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan.[5] Participants at the meeting discussed issues related to radiation safety in Tajikistan and the development of a draft law, On Establishing Regulatory Authority in the Field of Nuclear and Radiation Safety. The IAEA representative proposed the adoption of the so-called framework law On Establishing Regulatory Authority and several additional laws, such as On Radiation Protection of the Population, On Safety of Nuclear Waste, and On Safety of Transportation of Nuclear Waste. At the meeting, the IAEA donated radiation measuring equipment worth $100,000 to Tajikistan.[5]

In summer 2003, the Madzhlisi Oli (Tajikistan's parliament) adopted the law On Radiation Safety, the draft of which was submitted for the parliament's consideration by the government in February 2003.[6] During deliberations on the draft law in the Madzhilis Namoyandagon (lower house of parliament), parliamentarians also discussed the creation of an Agency on Radiation Safety under the auspices of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, which would work jointly with representatives of the Ministry of Emergency and Civil Defense, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Academy of Sciences. The law provides for the distribution of responsibilities of local authorities, principles for maintaining radiation safety, and obligations arising from the use of radioactive sources. The new law also regulates the order of transportation of nuclear materials and radioactive substances, and their possible transit through the country's territory within the framework of international agreements.[6]

Editor's Note: The Republic of Tajikistan has been a member of the IAEA since 2000 and does not possess nuclear weapons. The Argus nuclear reactor designed for the Laboratory of Nuclear-Physical Analysis Methods and Control was built in Dushanbe in 1991, though it was never loaded with fuel.[7] During the Soviet era, uranium for the Soviet nuclear industry and nuclear weapons program was mined in Tajikistan.[6] The latest inventory conducted by the Ministry of Environmental Protection of the Republic of Tajikistan, the agency that controls all radioactive sources in the country, revealed that there are 34 tailing dumps of radioactive and toxic waste in the country, containing a total of  210 million tons of radioactive substances. Eighty percent of the waste is in the form of mine rock. Of 22 burial sites in Tajikistan, 11 contain radioactive waste. Of the 11, only six sites have been properly sealed.[8] A tailing dump is a complex of special structures and equipment designed for storage or burial of harmful waste produced by the ore mining and processing industry.[9]
Sources:
[1] Galina Gridneva, "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE podpisali soglasheniye o vzaimnykh garantiyakh v svyazi s Dogovorom o nerasprostranenii yadernogo oruzhiya" [Tajikistan and the IAEA signed an agreement on mutual safeguards related to the Treaty on Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons], Official website of the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation, 7 July 2003, <http://www.minatom.ru/presscenter/
text.php?ssd=19077.txt>.
[2] "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE: podpisano soglasheniye" [Tajikistan and the IAEA: an agreement signed], Khovar information agency, 7 July 2003, <http://www.khovar.tojikiston.com>.
[3] "Tadzhikistan i MAGATE podpisali dogovor po yadernomu vooruzheniyu" [Tajikistan and the IAEA signed an agreement on nuclear weapons], Khabar Kyrgyz national information agency, 8 July 2003, <http://www.kabar.kg/03/Jul/08/95.htm>.
[4] Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency, approved by the IAEA General Conference on 1 October 1999; IAEA official website, <http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/
Documents/statute.html#A1.20>.
[5] "O radiatsionnoy bezopasnosti strany" [On radiation safety of the country], Khovar information agency, 12 December 2002, <http://khovar.tojikiston.com>.
[6] "Rastvornyy yadernyy reaktor "Argus" [Argus nuclear reactor], Official website of Krasnaya Zvezda Federal State Unitary Enterprise, <http://www.redstaratom.ru/argus.htm>.
[7] For more information on the Argus nuclear reactor and Tajikistan’s nuclear profile visit the Newly Independent States Nuclear Missile Database produced by the Monterey Institute’s Center for Nonproliferation Studies for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), <http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/
tajikis/overview.htm>.
[8] "Chto vazhno znat v Tadzhikistane tomu, kto ishchet OMU?" [What does the one who seeks WMD need to know in Tajikistan?], Vecherniy Dushanbe, No. 30 (294), 25 July 2003, p. 7.
[9] "Gigantskiy opolzen mozhet razrushit uranovoye khvostokhranilishche" [Gigantic landslide can destroy the uranium tailing dump], Bellona Foundation website, 5 June 2003, <http://www.bellona.no/ru/international/
russia/incidents/29489.html>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

May 2003: TENSIONS CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE PASSPORT STAMPING AT UZBEKISTANI-TAJIKISTANI BORDER
A 23 May 2003 article published in The Messenger, an English-language newspaper published in Tashkent, reports that Uzbekistani customs officers have been excessively stamping passports at the border with Tajikistan, thus causing tensions with border residents and shuttle traders.[1] For various reasons that analysts consider to be both political and economic, Uzbekistan has attempted to limit border crossing from neighboring countries.[1,2,3,4] Lately, in Tajikistan, this has taken the form of increased passport stamping, requiring Tajikistani nationals to renew their passports as they quickly run out of pages. Passport renewal in Tajikistan costs about six dollars, approximately the equivalent of the average monthly salary in Tajikistan ($8.30 in 2001) [5], thus leaving border residents with the dilemma of putting an end to their border trade activities, or saving their meager earnings to pay for a new passport.[1] To attract the attention of Uzbekistani authorities to the problem, customs officials of the Patar checkpoint in Tajikistan adopted similar practices vis-à-vis Uzbekistani nationals crossing the border.[1]

Border demarcation has been a bone of contention between the two countries since the Soviet period, when boundaries established between the republics placed large areas populated by ethnic Tajiks under Uzbekistani authority and vice versa.[2,3] The border conflict with Tajikistan took a dramatic turn in 1998, when the Uzbekistani government closed the border after a failed coup in Tajikistan by Tajikistani Colonel Makhmud Khudoiberdiyev and his rebel forces, who invaded Tajikistan's Leninabad province from the territory of Uzbekistan in November 1998. Tajikistani authorities suspected the rebels of receiving support from Uzbekistan.[1,6] In 2000, Uzbekistani authorities began placing landmines along the border with Tajikistan and established a visa regime (except for border residents).[1,2,7,8] These decisions were triggered by a series of explosions in Tashkent in February 1999, attributed to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), whose members used Tajikistan as a transit country to launch their attacks on Uzbekistan.[1,9]

In 2002, both countries appeared to make progress in resolving their border disputes. At the third summit of the Central Asian Cooperation Organization (CACO), the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan signed an agreement finalizing the demarcation of 86% of their common border.[4]

Editor’s Note: The IMU, also known as the Islamic Party of Turkestan, is a group of Islamic militants from Uzbekistan and other Central Asian states, whose primary goal is to overthrow President Islam Karimov and establish an Islamic state in Uzbekistan.[9,10]
Sources:
[1] Muzaffar Yunusov, “Uzbek Border Guards Anger Tajiks,” The Messenger, 23 May 2003, p. 8.
[2] “Inter-Ethic Tension Threatens Fragile Tajik-Uzbek Relations,” Eurasia Net, <http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/
insight/articles/eav021403.shtml>, 14 February 2003.
[3] Rashid Abdullo, “Tajik-Uzbek Border Progress,” Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), Reporting Central Asia (RCA), <http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/
rca/rca_200210_152_1_eng.txt>, No. 152, October 2002.
[4] “Uzbek Border Row Introduces New Element of Tension in Central Asia,” Eurasia Net, <http://www.eurasianet.org/departments/
business/articles/eav012703.shtml>, 27 January 2003.
[5] Sobir Kurbanov, “Republic of Tajikistan: Poverty Reduction Strategy Process and Fiscal Dimension of Poverty,” Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the World Bank Institute, Conference materials, <http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/publicfinance/
documents/seco_presentations/kurbanov.PPT>, 28 January 2002.
[6] “For the first time since 1993, Uzbek President Islam Karimov on 13 June visited Tajikistan,” Week in Review, Transitions Online, <http://archive.tol.cz/weeka/jun18.html>, 12-18 June 2000.
[7] International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Landmine Monitor Report 2002, <http://www.icbl.org/lm/2002/uzbekistan.html>.
[8] “Uzbek Transit Visa Rules Strangling Tajik Economy, Iranian Radio Says,” Eurasia Net, <http://www.eurasianet.org/resource/tajikistan/
hypermail/200011/0002.html>, 2 November 2000.
[9] Terrorist Group Profile, Naval Post-Graduate School, Monterey, CA, <http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/imu.htm>.
[10] “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,” Center for Nonproliferation Database, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/research/wtc01/imu.htm>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

12-14 May 2003: U.S. EXBS PROGRAM PROVIDES MORE ASSISTANCE TO TAJIKISTANI BORDER GUARDS AND CUSTOMS OFFICERS UNDER THE AUSPICES OF EXPORT CONTROL-BORDER SECURITY (EXBS) PROGRAM
On 12-14 May 2003, the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan provided $670,000 worth of new equipment to the State Border Protection Committee and the Customs Department of the Ministry of State Revenues and Tax Collection of Tajikistan.[1,2,3] U.S. assistance to the State Border Protection Committee included 2,500 sets of military uniforms, eight short wave (SW) repeater stations, 79 high frequency (HF) antennae masts, and two Customs Interdiction Tool Kits (CIT Kits).[1] The Tajikistani Customs Department received 28 HF antennae masts and five CIT Kits.[1] The U.S. Customs Service will dispatch three customs experts to Tajikistan to train Tajikistani border guards and customs officials on the use of the CIT Kits.[1] According to a press release issued by the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, the U.S. government has provided a total of $1,700,000 of EXBS assistance to Tajikistan since June 2002.[1,2,3]

Editor’s Note: A repeater station listens for a signal on one frequency (the input frequency) and re-transmits, or "repeats" it on another frequency known as the output. Repeater stations are located on top of tall buildings or mountains where the "radio horizon" is much greater than from the ground. CIT Kits consist of tools including fiber optic scopes and density meters that will enable Tajikistani border guards and customs officials to significantly increase the quality of inspection of vehicles, trucks, and cargo that cross the borders of Tajikistan.[1]
Sources:
[1] “United States Government Sends New Equipment to the State Border Protection Committee,” U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Tajikistan, Official Press Release <http://usembassy.state.gov/dushanbe/
wwwhequipmentbordercommittee.html>, 16 May 2003.
[2] Galina Gridneva and Valeriy Zhukov, “US provides Technical Aid to Tajikistan Border Troops,” ITAR-TASS, 22 May 2003; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[3] “US Equipment Boost to Tajik Border Posts,” ASIA-Plus Information Agency (Dushanbe), 22 May 2003; in BBC Monitoring International Reports; in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[4] For more information on the EXBS assistance to Tajikistan, see “First Stage of 2003 EXBS Assistance Provided to Tajikistan,” NIS Export Control Observer,  <http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/>, April 2003, p. 10; and “Tajikistani Border Guards and Customs Officers to Get Additional Technical Assistance from U.S. Government,” NIS Export Control Observer, <http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/>, May 2003, p. 4.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

May 2003: TAJIKISTANI BORDER GUARDS AND CUSTOMS OFFICERS TO GET ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM U.S. GOVERNMENT
Seven sets of inspection equipment valued at over $28,000 each will be given to the customs and border security agencies of Tajikistan under the U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) Program. According to Gregory Jansen, EXBS Advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, U.S. Customs personnel will arrive in Dushanbe in May 2003 to provide training at a border post and two other locations designated by Tajikistani customs. The training will focus on preventing drug trafficking and dealing with common smuggling techniques.[1]

In March 2003, the United States donated 200 Motorola shortwave radios worth $206,000. Training in the use of the devices was conducted in Dushanbe on 11-13 March by two Motorola representatives. In addition, training in the routine maintenance and repair of the Motorola radios and the installation of the MTR 200 Motorola repeaters was provided to Border Guard radio technicians. Further communications assistance will come in the form of 108 HF antennae masts, valued at over $34,000. These antennae masts are part of the Barrett HF radio package that was delivered to the government of Tajikistan in February 2003.[1,2]
Sources:
[1] The U.S. Provides Interdiction and Communications Assistance to Tajik Border Guards and Customs. Press Releases, Speeches, Notices at website of U.S. Embassy in Tajikistan, <http://usembassy.state.gov/dushanbe/wwwhrlse.html>.
[2] “First Stage of 2003 EXBS Assistance Provided to Tajikistan,” NIS Export Control Observer, April 2003, p. 10, CNS website, <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

18 February 2003: FIRST STAGE OF 2003 EXBS ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO TAJIKISTAN
On 18 February 2003, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Franklin Huddle presented equipment worth $500,000 to the Tajikistani State Border Protection Committee and the Customs Committee as part of the U.S. Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) assistance program.[1] According to a U.S. Embassy official in Dushanbe, this constitutes the first part of the EXBS program in Tajikistan for 2003, which will be implemented in three stages and be worth a total of $1.8 million.[2] In the first stage of the EXBS program, the Tajikistani border protection and customs authorities received 64 Barrett base radio stations, 47 mobile and 32 portable shortwave radio sets, 10 diesel generators, 5 computers, and 2,500 sets of winter gear for border guards. The first stage of the EXBS assistance program in Tajikistan also included a training course in which 10 customs officers and 15 border guards were instructed by U.S. specialists on using radio equipment in mountain terrain.[1,2] The donated equipment will be used by the Tajikistani border protection and customs authorities to reinforce security in areas bordering Afghanistan and China.[2] Commenting on the U.S. assistance, Chairman of the Tajikistani State Border Protection Committee Abdurahmon Azimov stated, “the assistance the U.S. government has provided to Tajikistani border guards and customs officers is timely and important as never before.”[1]

Editor’s Note: The Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and is administered by the U.S. Customs Service’s Office of International Affairs. Through the EXBS program, the U.S. Customs Service maintains a network of EXBS advisors in 10 locations who have program responsibility for a total of 25 countries. EXBS activities cover all countries in Eastern Europe, the NIS states of the Caucasus and Central Asia, as well as Turkey, Cyprus, and Malta. The main objectives of the EXBS program are border infrastructure improvement, facilitation of interagency cooperation, and promotion of regional cooperation among foreign border control agencies.[3]
Sources:
[1] “USA Grants 500,000 Dollars Worth of Aid to Tajik Border, Customs Committees,” Interfax, February 18, 2003; BBC Monitoring International Reports, 18 February 2003; Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe Database, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[2] Galina Gridneva and Valeriy Zhukov, “US provides aid to Tajikistan border and customs services,” ITAR-TASS, 18 February 2003; Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe Database, <http://www.lexis-nexis.com>.
[3] David Harrell, “Customs role in international nonproliferation security,” U.S. Customs Today, October 2001, <http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/CustomsToday/
2001/October/custoday_international.xml>.
This item originally appeared in NIS Export Control Observer: <http://www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/nisexcon/index.htm>.

10 September 2002: U.S. AMBASSADOR GIVES VEHICLES TO TAJIKISTANI BORDER FORCES, CUSTOMS SERVICE
On 10 September 2002, U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan Franklin Huddle donated 19 vehicles (eight GAZ vans, four Kamaz trucks, and seven UAZ all-terrain vehicles) to the Tajikistani Committee on State Border Protection and the Customs Department of the Republic of Tajikistan. The donation was part of the Export Control and Border Security Program (EXBS), a joint program of the U.S. Customs Service and the U.S. Department of State to help the government of Tajikistan prevent and control illicit transfers of weapons of mass destruction, arms, and other related materials in and out of the country. In the coming weeks the EXBS will provide Tajikistan with 16 additional automobiles, as well as binoculars, hand-held global positioning satellite units, high frequency radios, and personnel training.
Source:
"U.S. Ambassador Hands Over Vehicles to Tajik Border Forces, Customs Service," U.S. Embassy Tajikistan press release, 10 September 2002; in U.S. Embassy Tajikistan website <http://usembassy.state.gov/dushanbe/wwwhexbs.htm>. {Entered 23 September 2002 AI}

May 1996: SEMINAR ON BORDER CONTROLS
The U.S. Customs Service has tentatively scheduled an 8 day seminar on border controls for May 1996. The seminar will likely involve 24 Tajik field officers.
Source:
Connie J. Fenchel, "Nuclear Non-proliferation: US Customs Service Training And Anti-Smuggling Efforts In The Newly Independent States," Testimony Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Government Affairs, U.S. Senate, 22 March 1996.

17 April 1996: NEW CHAIRMAN OF THE CIS INTERIOR MINISTER’S COUNCIL
Recently appointed Tajik minister of the Interior, Major-General Sayidamir Zuhorov, was elected chairman of the CIS Interior Minister's Council at a meeting in Dushanbe. Zuhorov reportedly intends to coordinate a crackdown on organized crime and weapons and drug smuggling.
Source:
Lowell Bezanis, "Tajikistan's Interior Minister New CIS Top Cop," OMRI Daily Digest, 18 April 1996, p. 3.

4 April 1996: MEETING OF THE CIS SECURITY REPRESENTATIVES
Representatives of CIS security bodies were in Dushanbe to discuss issues of coordination of efforts to combat drug smuggling, terrorism, and illegal trade of weapons. The participants decided to create a common CIS information database on these issues.
Source:
Igor Shestakov, "Terroristov i Narkodeltsov Zanesyt v Ediny Bank Dannykh," K-Daily, 16 April 1996, p. 5.

7 March 1996: AGREEMENT WITH CHINA ABOUT BORDER-RELATED ISSUES
It is reported that an agreement between Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and China on mutual trust aimed at limiting military forces at the Chinese borders of the CIS states is planned to be signed in the first half of 1996 in Shanghai. Land borders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with China cover 1,533 km, 858 km, and 414 km respectively. These countries are known to be concerned about alleged encroachment by Chinese settlers, smuggling, and other border-related issues.
Source:
Bolot Kerimbaev, Kyrgyz News Digest, 4 - 12 March 1996, p. 2.

February 1996: THERE ARE NO RUSSIAN CONSCRIPT SERVICEMEN IN TAJIKISTAN
In an interview, Russian General Andrey Ivanovich Nikolayev, Chief of the Federal Border Services, explained that there are no conscript servicemen in Tajikistan. Further, nearly 12,000 of the 18,000 border guards serving under Russian authority are actually citizens of Tajikistan, while another 2,000 soldiers hail from the other four republics of Central Asia.
Source:
Viktor Loshak, Moskovskiye novosti, 18 - 25 February 1996, No. 7, pp. 1, 9; in FBIS-UMA-96-050-S, 13 March 1996.

August 1995: WORKSHOP ON NONPROLIFERATION IN ALMATY
Representatives from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan convened in Almaty to attend a workshop on nuclear nonproliferation and anti-smuggling efforts, sponsored by the U.S. Customs Service. Twelve participants attended the 8 day seminar.
Source:
Connie J. Fenchel, "Nuclear Non-proliferation: US Customs Service Training And Anti-Smuggling Efforts In The Newly Independent States," Testimony Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Committee on Government Affairs, U.S. Senate, 22 March 1996.

1993: TAJIKISTAN LEFT WITH LESS THAN 1% OF SOVIET MIC
It was reported that Tajikistan possesses less than 1 percent of the military-industrial base of the former Soviet Union. The only products of military significance are the solid-propellant rocket motors for strategic missiles, fabricated in the city of Taboshar. There are no military RDT&E facilities in Tajikistan.
Source:
Richard F. Kaufman and John P. Hardt (eds.), The Former Soviet Union in Transition (Joint Economic Committee Congress of the United States, 1993), p. 788.

February 1993: CONTROL OVER THE MATERIALS FOR WEAPON PRODUCTION
Tajikistan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have agreed to cooperate in control over exports of raw materials, equipment, technologies and services which could be used in the production of weapons of mass destruction. According to a report in Krasnaya zvezda, however, some experts, believe that these agreements are not working.
Sources:
[1] ITAR-TASS, 2/9/93; in JPRS-TND-93-006, "Six States Agree To Bar Weapons Technology Exports," 5 March 1993, p. 17; Krasnaya zvezda, 28 August 1993, p. 3.
[2] JPRS-TND-93-029, "Islamic Power Could Mean Nuclear Proliferation," 17 September 1993, p. 37. See section "Attitude Toward Nonproliferation."

January-March 1992: RUMORS OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL EXPORT
Numerous unsubstantiated reports maintain that the Tajikistani government held discussions regarding the exports of enriched uranium and weapons technology with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan and Libya.
Sources:
[1] Moskovskiye novosti, 19 January 1992, p. 5.
[2] Defense and Foreign Strategic Policy, February 1992.
[3] Radio Rossii, 9 August 1992; in Central Eurasia, 11 August 1992, p. 2.
[3] Hamburg DPA, 2 January 1992; in Reuters, 3 January 1992.
[4] Proliferation Issues, 31 January 1992, p. 50.

Archived Report on Export Controls in Tajikistan
This report was originally prepared by the Center for Nonproliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute of International Studies in January 1998 under a grant from the United States Department of Energy's Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control. The views expressed in this report are those of the authors alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Energy or the United States Government.  

OVERVIEW
The major proliferation threat posed by Tajikistan is due to its location.  Its proximity to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq to the south and west, and to Kazakhstan and Russia in the north raises the concern that Kyrgyzstan could serve as a transshipment point for sensitive materials.[1]

Tajikistan itself produces little that could be used to create weapons of mass destruction.  The Vostochnyy Rare Metal Industrial Association (Vostokredmet) at Chkalovsk processed uranium from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan for the Soviet civilian and military nuclear industries.  Vostokredmet still processes small amounts of uranium.[1,2]  Vostokredmet is also the possible site of a secret former enrichment plant.[3,4]  In addition, solid-propellant rocket motors for strategic missiles were manufactured at the Zarya Vostoka factory in the city of Taboshar.[5]

A study conducted by the Center for International Trade and Security of the University of Georgia found that, as of 1999, Tajikistan's export control system was only 8% compliant with Western standards, the lowest rate of compliance for all post-Soviet states.  Indeed, of 10 components identified in the study as being integral to an effective export control system, Tajikistan scored zero in all but the customs category.[1]  Given Tajikistan's five-year civil war soon after its independence in 1991, it is not surprising that little has been done to establish a nonproliferation export control system.
Sources:
[1] Cassady B. Craft, Suzette R. Grillot, Liam Anderson, "The Dangerous Ground:  Nonproliferation Export-Control Development in the Southern Tier of the Former Soviet Union," Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 47, No. 6, November/December 2000, pp. 39-51
[2] O. Tikunov, "Uranovyye rudniki v Tadzhikistani nakhodyatsya na grani zakrytiya," Russkoye Byuro Novostey, 1 February 1999; in Integrum Techno, http://www.integrum.com/.
[3] JPRS-TND-92-002, 31 January 1992, pp. 50-51.
[4] JPRS-TND-92-003, 14 February 1992, pp. 32-33.
[5] Richard F. Kaufman and John P. Hardt (eds.), The Former Soviet Union In Transition, Joint Economic Committee Congress of the United States, 1993, p. 788.{Updated 20 August 2001 KB}

EXPORT CONTROL LEGISLATION 
According to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tajikistan has adopted several decrees related to the export of dual-use chemical products and natural uranium.[1]  Two of the most relevant are below.

Government Decree No. 32, On Procedures for Controlling the Export from the Republic of Tajikistan of Chemical Substances and Technologies which are Intended for Peaceful Purposes but can be Used in the Development of Chemical Weapons, 12 January 1996
This document outlines the export licensing procedures for chemical substances, specifies criteria for approving or denying license applications, and includes procedures for end-user verification.[2]

Law on the Export Control of Arms, Military Equipment, and Dual-Use Materials, No. 521, 13 December 1997
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Customs Committee took the lead in drafting this comprehensive law, with input from other relevant Ministries and Agencies,[3] which Tajikistan's Parliament, the Majlisi Oli, has passed. According to Kazakhstani government officials, this law is based very closely on Kazakhstan's export control law. 
Sources:
[1] Correspondence with Tajikistani government official, April 1997.
[2] Liam Anderson, “The Central Asian States,” Restraining the Spread of the Soviet Arsenal: NIS Nonproliferation Export Controls, Status Report, 1996.
[3] Correspondence with Tajikistani government official, April 1997, February 1998.

LICENSING PROCESS
According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs official, the Government is responsible for issuing export licenses after receiving expert advice and conclusions from such Ministries and Agencies as the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, the Academy of Sciences, and the National Customs Committee.[1] However, other analysts have described the process as somewhat reversed – that is, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations issues licenses after the approval of the Government.[2] I