The Mitsubishis were purchased under the Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) Program and will replace vehicles previously provided to the INP by the U.S. Department of Defense. The two off-road vehicles were procured in order to provide a high degree of mobility to the Institute of Nuclear Physics’ technical installation groups maintaining the radiation portal monitors (RPM) installed at 33 border-crossing points of the Uzbek national border.

“These vehicles will make it possible to inspect RPMs, because we have to go to the borders very often in order to carry out work related to repair and maintenance, we can take the equipment back, or there may be emergency situations, and certainly these vehicles will greatly contribute to accomplishing this important task,” said Umar Salihkbaev, Director of the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Academy of Science of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the ceremony Ambassador Krol praised the INP and their work stating, “The U.S. and Uzbekistan are partners in the fight against transnational threats including international terrorism and the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The problem of proliferation and trafficking of illicit materials is not just a problem for our two countries but for the world, and the work performed by Uzbekistan’s Institute of Nuclear Physics is vital to making the world safer.”

The Export Control and Related Border Security Program, administered by the State Department, is designed to help halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, related technologies, and other weapons. The program in Uzbekistan comprises a wide range of nonproliferation export control assistance, from licensing and legal/regulatory technical workshops, to provision of equipment, and training for border control and enforcement agencies.

Since its inception in April 2000, the EXBS program has donated over US$20 million in equipment and training to the Government of Uzbekistan, including communications equipment, surveillance and detection equipment, and vehicles.