ASTANA. September 22. KAZINFORM On September 23, U.S. Ambassador Richard Hoagland will sign two grant agreements on behalf of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to promote the development of maritime trade in Kazakhstan. Mukhit Mazhenov, general director of KazMunaiGas-TransCaspian, and Marat Ormanov, general director of KazMorTransFlot, will participate in the signing ceremony, which will take place at the U.S. Embassy in Astana. The first grant agreement, in the amount of $327,844, will be signed with KazMunaiGas-TransCaspian to help ensure that Kazakhstan's maritime legislation corresponds to international standards. The project will define the international treaties, maritime laws, and regulations that Kazakhstan should adopt, and it will recommend how these requirements should be implemented. The second grant agreement, in the amount of $374,268, will be signed with the national maritime shipping company KazMorTransFlot. The purpose of the grant is to expedite the clearance of vessels at Caspian ports by evaluating the technical, economic, and financial feasibility of implementing the Electronic Documentation Procedure or Early Departure Procedure (EDP). Implementation of this procedure will reduce time spent reviewing and processing documentation, thereby increasing the efficiency at existing Caspian ports and consequently reducing the cost of maritime transportation. KazMunaiGas-TransCaspian and KazMorTransFlot are wholly owned subsidiaries of the national oil company KazMunaiGas. USTDA is an independent U.S. government foreign assistance agency funded by the U.S. Congress. Its mission is to promote economic growth in developing and middle-income countries, while helping American businesses to export their products and services. USTDA provides grant funding to projects overseas that support the development of modern infrastructure and an open trading system, a press release of the U.S. Embassy in Astana reads.