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RUSSIAN LEADERS EXAMINE U.S. NONPROLIFERATION SECTOR IN OAK RIDGE, TN, SEATTLE, WA, and WASHINGTON, DC
October 19, 2007
For Immediate Release
Washington, D.C. — 16 Russian nonproliferation leaders brought by the Open World Program will arrive on October 20 to meet with prominent government officials and representatives of other organizations dealing with nonproliferation issues. The delegation is scheduled to meet with House and Senate Armed Services Committee staff, the Cooperative Threat Reduction office at the Department of State, the Department of Energy’s Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation program, staff of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and others.
The two groups of Russian leaders first arrived in Seattle and Richland, WA, and Oak Ridge, TN, on October 13 to examine the U.S. nonproliferation sector, including the roles of national laboratories, non-governmental organizations, universities, the media, and communities associated with the U.S. nuclear complex. The Battelle Memorial Institute, in conjunction the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is hosting the delegations. The groups will meet in Washington, DC, to complete their program.
Managed by the independent Open World Leadership Center at the Library of Congress, Open World is designed to enhance understanding and capabilities for cooperation between the United States and the countries of Eurasia and the Baltic States by developing a network of leaders in the region who have gained significant, firsthand exposure to America’s democratic, accountable government and free-market system.
The visiting delegates represent all facets of the Russian nonproliferation sector. The delegation includes a specialist in nuclear materials transportation systems security, a top research academic in the field of the reduction of weapons of mass destruction, and a state inspector in the Federal Service for Environmental, Technical and Nuclear Control.
Homestays will allow the Open World delegates to experience American family life, a unique experience for Open World delegations that they seldom forget. The delegations will also take part in several cultural and community activities.
The U.S. Congress established Open World in 1999 to enhance understanding and capabilities for cooperation between the United States and Russia. In 2003, Congress made all post-Soviet states eligible for the program. Thanks to Open World, some 12,000 current and future Eurasian leaders have experienced American civil society and have been exposed to new ideas and practices that they can adapt for use in their own work. Open World also promotes partnerships and continued communications between delegates and their American hosts and professional counterparts. Open World currently operates exchanges for political and civic leaders from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.
For more information, please contact Dr. K. Mark Leek, Battelle Memorial Institute, (206) 528-3289 or Open World’s Maura Shelden at 202-707-6197. For more information on Open World, please visit http://www.openworld.gov.
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