Embassy News
USTDA Awards Grant Agreements
On September 23, 2009 on behalf of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the Ambassador signed two grant agreements to promote the development of maritime trade in Kazakhstan. Mukhit Mazhenov, General Director of KazMunaiGas-TransCaspian, and Marat Ormanov, General Director of KazMorTransFlot, signed the grant agreements on behalf of their respective organizations. The grant to KazMunaiGas-TransCaspian will help ensure that Kazakhstan's maritime legislation corresponds to international standards. The project will define the international treaties, maritime laws, and regulations that Kazakhstan should adopt, and it will recommend how these requirements should be implemented. The grant to national maritime shipping company KazMorTransFlot will expedite the clearance of vessels at Caspian ports by evaluating the technical, economic, and financial feasibility of implementing the Electronic Documentation Procedure or Early Departure Procedure (EDP). Implementation of this procedure will reduce time spent reviewing and processing documentation, thereby increasing the efficiency at existing Caspian ports and consequently reducing the cost of maritime transportation. Transcript
