The law was passed by parliament's lower house, the State Duma, on May 25 and approved by the upper house, the Federation Council June 8.
The agreement between Russia and Kazakhstan on the development of cooperation in effective exploitation of the Baikonur launching site was signed on January 9, 2004 in Astana, the Kazakh capital.
The agreement was prepared to complement the provisions of the agreement on the main principles and conditions for using the Baikonur launching site, concluded by Russia and Kazakhstan on March 28, 1994.
The agreement will promote the further effective use of the launching site for national space programs, international cooperation programs and commercial projects.
The prolongation of the leasing agreement until 2050 is the basis for the development of cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan and seems to be in line with Russian national interests.
The priority direction of the agreement is the construction at Baikonur of the perspective and ecologically safe space rocket complex, Baiterek, on the basis of the Russian space rocket complex Angara. Joint works, aimed at the solution of the environment problems, will help solve the existing issues concerning the space activities on the territory of Kazakhstan.
