ASTANA – Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to liberalise trade between members during the Sept. 28 CIS Council of Heads of State in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.
Photo credit: akorda.kz.
Nazarbayev proposed removing trade barriers between member states, expanding trade deals and optimising transit routes. He also suggested more joint projects in science and space, digitisation and tourism.
The Kazakh President also noted the services offered by the Astana International Financial Centre and encouraged countries to join.
The leaders of the CIS countries including Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, among others, signed or adopted 15 agreements and statements at the meeting on security, the legacy of World War II, information security, culture, research and peaceful use of outer space, among other issues.
Nazarbayev met on the sidelines of the council meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The Kazakh and Tajik presidents discussed aid provided by Kazakhstan and trade. Discussions with the Armenian Prime Minister noted a 60 percent increase in trade in 2017 and Armenia’s interest in increasing investments in Kazakhstan.
