The Black Sea–Central Asia Regional Nuclear Security and Non-Proliferation Forum took place in Monterey, USA, focusing on issues of nuclear security, non-proliferation, and regional cooperation. The forum was organized by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) with the support of the OSCE, UNODA, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Representatives of the expert community from the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the forum, including members from the Center for Non-Proliferation and Export Control, the Kyrgyz National University, the Verification and Identification Center, and the WINCA Kyrgyzstan team.
Taalaibek Bektashev, a representative of the Center, served as a panelist during the session titled “Implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540 and Other Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Security Activities and Initiatives in the Black Sea and Central Asia.” He presented the Kyrgyz Republic’s experience and highlighted opportunities for the expert community to contribute to the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540.
He placed particular emphasis on analyzing the “1540 Matrix” for Central Asian countries to identify areas where regional expert communities and professional networks could provide expert advisory support.
The Center representative’s participation helped showcase the Kyrgyz Republic’s national experience in non-proliferation and export control and fostered the further development of professional contacts with experts and organizations working in this field.
The forum also served as a platform to strengthen cooperation between regional professional networks—specifically WINCA (Women in Nuclear Central Asia Network) and BSWN (Black Sea Women in Nuclear Network)—as well as international research and expert organizations.
As part of the event, visits were made to Stanford University to participate in a roundtable discussion and to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. For reference: The Black Sea–Central Asia Regional Nuclear Security and Nonproliferation Forum took place on July 27–30, 2026, at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, in Monterey, California, USA.