Emba military training range returned to Kazakhstan

Deputy Minister of Defense Okas Saparov introduced the draft law that entails ratification of a protocol between Kazakhstan and Russia. Particularly, from January 1, 2017 the protocol shall terminate agreements earlier concluded by Kazakhstan on terms of use and lease of the range.

“As part of the Protocol, the Russian Federation will hand over the land plot, movable and immovable property of Emba ground to the Republic of Kazakhstan for further use, taking amortization into account,” Okas Saparov noted.

According to a Protocol, the process of on the transfer and acceptance of Emba range will be made by a joint commission consisting of the parties’ authorised representatives. There are no claims against Russia for inappropriate fulfillment of obligations on use of the ground, the Deputy Minister remarked. 

‘The termination of the lease of the range will have a favorable effect on economic development of the region. Especially, the returned lands will be further used for the interests of the entrepreneurs involved in agriculture and the companies specializing in exploration and extraction of minerals’, Okas Saparov informed.                                                                                                     

He noted that Emba’s lease termination is a further step towards fulfillment of the President’s assignments on reviewing the areas of the military training ranges leased by Russian Federation.