Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed the Law On ratification of the protocol on amendments to agreement between governments of Kazakhstan and France on ensuring transit of military property and personnel via the territory of Kazakhstan in relation to participation of French Armed Forces in the efforts on stabilization and restoration of Afghanistan, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the President’s official website.

This protocol was signed in Paris on November 21, 2012. The document allows aircrafts arriving from Afghanistan to land in Shymkent airport (in southern Kazakhstan) and re-load military property owned by the French upon prior notification of Kazakhstan authorities.

France will be transporting containers with military property of non-combat purposes and vehicles in non-battle-ready condition. The freights will be arriving by planes from Afghanistan, stored in a special temporary bond storage and then transported through Kazakhstan and Russian to the Baltics by railroad.

Zhaissan-Iletsk railroad border crossing point in Aktobe oblast of Kazakhstan has been chosen to be the point of crossing of Kazakhstan border, which, according to Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry, will exclude the possibility of transportation via the zones that are sensitive for Kazakhstan.

France will fund construction of the needed infrastructure for the temporary bond storage and the area of enhanced customs control for the transshipment operations in Shymkent airport. France will also allocate funds for procurement or rent of loading equipment and vehicles for the railroad spur, construction of additional roads with hard surfacing of around 400 meters, protection of freights in the temporary storage and en route on Kazakhstan’s railroad.

Earlier Kazakhstan Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Aleksey Volkov, who presented the draft law in the Parliament, said that the agreement on transit will help turn Shymkent into a beneficial international transport hub.