BREAKING NEWS: Kazakhstan to suspend exports of military products for a year

Kazakhstan will suspend its exports of military products for a year, as reported on Saturday, August 27.

“Kazakhstan to suspend exports of military products for a year,” read an official statement by the government.

The statement continued:

“Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov held a meeting of the Defence Industry Commission.”

“The participants considered a proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development to suspend export of weapons, military equipment and military products until the end of August 2023.”

“This proposal was supported by the members of the Commission.”

“They also discussed plans to conduct an audit of legal entities holding licenses and amend the Law on Permits and Notices.”

Kazakhstan’s is heavily reliant on foreign trade, with a 2018 turnover of $93.5 billion, 19.7 per cent more than what the nation received in 2017.

Kazakhstan reportedly exports an estimated 800 products to 120 countries.

The news follows reports of a decision from the Novorossiysk District Court in Russia that saw the suspension of activities of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium’s (CPC) marine terminal for 30 days to “eliminate violations identified by Rostransnadzor (Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Transport).”

The terminal is Kazakhstan’s main exit point for Kazakh oil.

The reason for this decision was alleged violations discovered by Roskomnadzor during an audit of the technical condition of dangerous production facilities and compliance with environmental requirements during their operation.