The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program organized a two-day “Government – Industry Outreach” workshop in Ashgabat September 29-30. Technical experts from the U.S Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted the workshop for 30 government officials who have responsibilities related to export control policy, enterprise outreach, or enforcement functions, such as officials from the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economics and Development, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the State Border Service of Turkmenistan. On September 29, U.S. Embassy First Secretary Jeffrey Giauque participated in the opening ceremony of the workshop and welcomed all the participants.
The “Government – Industry Outreach” workshop provided an opportunity to discuss the importance of government efforts to establish and maintain outreach to industry as part of instituting an effective system of strategic trade controls. The workshop emphasized manufacturers’ roles in preventing the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and presented approaches for strengthening industry compliance. The workshop created opportunities for interagency dialogue to discuss Turkmenistan’s current enterprise outreach program and what additional steps are appropriate in the context of Turkmenistan’s controlled export base.
