The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) is an intergovernmental nonproliferation organization connecting scientists with their peers and research organizations in other countries. [1] The ISTC Headquarters is currently in Astana, Kazakhstan. Member governments have included Armenia, the European Union, Georgia, Japan, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Tajikistan, and the United States. Scientists from nearly 60 countries have participated in ISTC activities. [2]
ISTC facilitates international science projects and assists the global scientific and business community to source and engage scientists and institutes that develop or possess an excellence of scientific know-how. [3]
The ISTC was established in 1992. Its headquarters were originally in Moscow [4] and it governed further scientific centers in the former Soviet Union in order to redirect the expertise of CBRN scientists to civil research fields.
In July 2015, the ISTC moved to Astana’s Nazarbayev University [4] after The Russian Federation demanded more secrecy and withdrew from the activity.
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country mostly in Central Asia, with a small part in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana, while the largest city and leading cultural and commercial hub is Almaty. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country. It has a population of 20 million and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre. Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country, although ethnic Russians in the country form a sizeable Christian community.
Foreign relations of Kazakhstan are primarily based on economic and political security consideration. The Nazarbayev administration has tried to balance relations with Russia and the United States by sending petroleum and natural gas to its northern neighbor at artificially low prices while assisting the U.S. in the War on Terror. Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, North Atlantic Cooperation Council, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan established a customs union with Russia and Belarus which eventually became the Eurasian Economic Union. President Nazarbayev has prioritized economic diplomacy into Kazakhstan's foreign policy.
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, from the country’s independence in 1991 until his formal resignation in 2019, and as the Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2022.
The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was founded in 1957 by Joseph Rotblat and Bertrand Russell in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, following the release of the Russell–Einstein Manifesto in 1955.
As the collapse of the Soviet Union appeared imminent, the United States and their NATO allies grew concerned of the risk of nuclear weapons held in the Soviet republics falling into enemy hands. The Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program was initiated by the Nunn–Lugar Act, which was authored and cosponsored by Sens. Sam Nunn (D-GA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN). According to the CTR website, the purpose of the CTR Program was originally "to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction and their associated infrastructure in former Soviet Union states." As the peace dividend grew old, an alternative 2009 explanation of the program was "to secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction in states of the former Soviet Union and beyond". The CTR program funds have been disbursed since 1997 by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).
Civilian Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Global is an independent nonprofit organization that promotes safety, security, and sustainability through science and innovation. CRDF Global was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1992 under the FREEDOM Support Act and established in 1995 by the National Science Foundation. This unique public-private partnership promotes international scientific and technical collaboration through grants, technical resources, and training. CRDF Global was originally named the U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation for the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (CRDF).
The United States and the Republic of Kazakhstan established diplomatic relations on December 16, 1991. The United States opened its embassy in Almaty in January 1992 and then relocated to Astana in 2006.
Kazakhstan–Russia relations are the bilateral foreign relations between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. Kazakhstan has an embassy in Moscow, a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg, Astrakhan and Omsk. Russia has an embassy in Astana and consulates in Almaty and Oral.
Nazarbayev University (NU) is an autonomous research university in Astana, Kazakhstan. It was founded by the former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in June 2010. It is an English-medium institution, with an international faculty and staff.
The Science and Technology Center in Ukraine commonly known as the STCU, is an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the non-proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weaponry and related technologies. It was established in 1993, through an international multilateral treaty to help scientists and researches involved in the research, development and production of nuclear, biological and chemical assets in former Soviet member states to transition from military to civilian, market oriented careers in their fields of expertise. The STCU was established and continues to receive its funding from Canada, Sweden and the United States to provide grants and funding for projects which employ these scientists and engineers.
The Nazarbayev Center is a multifunctional scientific, analytical, humanitarian and educational public institution in Kazakhstan.
Soviet Scientists Immigration Act of 1992 granted authorization for engineers and scientists from the post-Soviet states to acquire employment within America. The Act of Congress implemented specific provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act providing United States visas for former Soviet Union foreign nationals classified as scientific immigrants being employed in the United States.
Science and technology in Armenia describes trends and developments in science, technology and innovation policy and governance in Armenia.
Science and technology in Kazakhstan – government policies to develop science, technology and innovation in Kazakhstan.
Science and technology in Kyrgyzstan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.
Science and technology in Tajikistan examines government efforts to develop a national innovation system and the impact of these policies.
The Republic of Kazakhstan became a member of the United Nations on March 2, 1992. Kazakhstan was elected to serve on the UN Security Council for the 2017–2018 term. UN Secretary-General António Guterres in remarks to the UNSC recognized Kazakhstan's work to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction and global non-proliferation efforts.
The State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) is a Russian research institute engaged in the development of chemical technologies for use in the national economy and the production of relevant goods and products.
The Republic of Kazakhstan, once a republic of the Soviet Union, was a primary venue for Soviet nuclear weapon testing from 1949 until 1989. Following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991, Kazakhstan became the fourth-largest nuclear power in the world and hosted a considerably large weapon support infrastructure due to its reliance on the Soviet nuclear program as a means to develop its own local economy. Besides the nuclear program, Kazakhstan was also a prominent site of Soviet programs of biological and chemical weapons.