Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the ratification of a Russia-Kazakhstan agreement on cooperation in the peaceful exploration and uses of outer space.

The accord was signed in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, in May 2008, aiming to establish organizational and legal procedures for working together.

Russia's lower house adopted the agreement on May 23. Upper house parliamentary lawmakers approved it on May 28.

Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots, said the document stipulated principles, norms and conditions covering the distribution and protection of intellectual property rights, export control, defense of property and technology, and customs clearance procedures.

"This is an important innovation," Slutsky said, TASS reports.

Source: Voice of Russia