Kazakhstan has not yet ratified the Protocol to the Tehran Convention on Oil Spill

Almaty. August 13. Silkroadnews - Kazakhstan has not yet ratified the Protocol on the Tehran Convention on the oil spill response, which does not allow to start the real work of the protocol, reported KazTAG Serik Akhmetov.
"All the Caspian countries have developed national plans of action for the Tehran Convention. Unfortunately, we have not developed this plan yet, although the management of Mangistau region and deputies have repeatedly raised this issue   to the government. Due to the fact that the Aktau Protocol has not yet been ratified by the Kazakh side, it is not possible to start the real work of the protocol", - said Akhmetov on Tuesday during a roundtable on the protection and preservation of the environment of the Caspian Sea, dedicated to the Caspian Day .
"I hope that the issue will be finally resolved in the near future. Although the issue is very serious - how should we respond to oil spills. Each of the four Caspian countries have a national plan, but we do not have overall action plan. Although it is designed and developed by experts and is now in the final stages of approval",- he added.
He also noted that this year finally decided the question of location of the Secretariat of the Tehran Convention. It will be moved from Geneva to the Caspian Sea. In alphabetical order every four years, the Secretariat of the Tehran Convention will change the place of deployment.
"Starting next year, it will be located in Baku (Azerbaijan), then in Iran and then in Kazakhstan. I hope that the Government will take a decision on the location of the secretariat in Aktau, "- said Akhmetov.
Protocol to the Tehran Convention on preparedness for response and cooperation in the event of pollution incidents Caspian Sea oil spill, was signed in 2011 in Aktau. The document was adopted by all five littoral states - Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan - and named Aktau. All countries, except Kazakhstan, have already ratified the protocol.