Kazakhstan ratifies agreements with Russia.

17/1 Tass 194

ASTANA, January 17 (Itar-Tass) -- Kazakhstan has ratified the
intergovernmental agreements with Russia on cooperation in the exploration
and peaceful use of outer space, as well as on the building and subsequent
operation of the third power unit of the Ekibastuz Thermal Power Plant
(TPP). Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed laws on the
ratification of the documents, the presidential press service reports.
According to the information of the committee for international
relations, defense and security in the Senate (upper chamber) of the
Kazakh parliament, the purpose of the first agreement is "the creation of
a legal foundation for cooperation of the two countries in the exploration
and peaceful use of outer space, as well as the establishment of the main
principles and terms of their cooperation."
The committee specified that under Article 11 of the document, "the
goods, imported and/or exported within the framework of the agreement,
shall be exempted from customs duties and taxes raised by the customs
bodies."
The agreement on the building and subsequent operation of the third
power unit of the Ekibastuz TPP "is aimed at deepening mutually
advantageous cooperation in the sphere of electricity generation between
the two countries, at ensuring parallel work of power grids of the two
countries and at creating conditions for reliable transportation of the
growing amount of electricity by their territory," said the statement of
the Senate committee for economic and regional policy.
Kazakh Vice Minister of Industry and Trade Duisenbai Turganov, who
presented the draft law in parliament, said that the power unit was
planned to be put in operation in 2014. "So far as the time limits for the
implementation of the project are concerned, we plan to put the power
unit in operation in 2014. The foundation has been built already. There
should be no doubt about the implementation of the project," he said.
-0-rom/kud