ASTANA – A roadmap on bilateral economic cooperation, including on the situation on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border, was signed Dec. 2 by Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Askar Mamin and Kyrgyz Vice Prime Minister Tolkunbek Abdygulov during a visit of the Kyrgyz governmental delegation to Astana.
The 50-point document was concluded upon Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s instructions that followed after his meeting with his Kyrgyz counterpart Sooronbai Jeenbekov in Minsk on Nov. 30.
The roadmap is designed to solve the issues of bilateral cooperation, including in border, transport, phytosanitary and veterinary control and customs and tax administration. The document provides for 16 operational measures, 5 short-term measures and 29 systemic measures.
“These measures aim to further adapt the Kyrgyz economy to the norms and requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union [EAEU] in order to ensure the access of Kyrgyz goods to the EAEU markets,” Mamin noted, according to primeminister.kz.
After signing the roadmap, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan will adopt new approaches to jointly ensure customs, tax, veterinary, phytosanitary and sanitary-epidemiological control at the EAEU’s external borders and ensure export, import and transit through the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border with the participation of the Eurasian Economic Commission representatives.
Kyrgyzstan undertook obligations to ensure due control in the abovementioned areas in full compliance with the EAEU requirements.
“Full and timely implementation of the roadmap will facilitate the creation of a common market based on the principles of transparency, legitimacy and mutual benefit, as well as provide a stimulus for strengthening mutually beneficial trade and economic ties in the traditional spirit of good-neighbourliness and friendship,” said Mamin.
He also noted that “joint work will be carried out to comply with the EAEU technical regulations, including the certification of Kyrgyz goods at Kazakhstan’s certification bodies”.
Following the signing of the roadmap, the sides agreed that starting from 00:00 Dec. 3, 2017, the Kazakh border service will switch from reinforced border control to the regular one at all points of the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border.
The tougher controls had been imposed Oct. 10 by Kazakhstan on Kyrgyz freight vehicles due to reported violations of the EAEU requirements for product safety by the Kyrgyz side. The roadmap was slated to be signed in late October, but wasn’t concluded due to differences of opinion of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz experts at that point.
The Nov. 30 meeting between Nazarbayev and Jeenbekov in Minsk served as a breakthrough point in the almost two-months development.
