Arianespace CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall and Anatoli Perminov, director general of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, signed a partnership contract regarding the production and supply of Russian equipment and systems for the construction of facilities needed to launch the Soyuz rocket from Arianespace’s French Guiana launch site. The contract provides for the manufacture, assembly and validation by Russian companies of the Soyuz launcher interface systems and equipment, adaptation of this launcher to conditions at the launch site and completion of final development of the Soyuz 2-1b launcher. Arianespace signed contracts to launch commercial and government payloads on the Soyuz rocket beginning in 2008. Financial terms of this agreement were not disclosed.