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Vice premier: Belarus-Kyrgyzstan trade is on the rise
MINSK, 24 August (BelTA) – The trade between Belarus and Kyrgyzstan is steadily growing, and there are plans to develop industrial cooperation, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Sivak said during a meeting of the intergovernmental Belarusian-Kyrgyz commission on trade and economic cooperation on 24 August, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus and Kyrgyzstan have noticeably intensified interaction. We ended 2022 with good indicators of mutual trade. Trade exceeded $160 million and increased by 65% compared to 2021. In 2023, the positive dynamics in mutual trade continue, including thanks to a significant increase in supplies from Kyrgyzstan. In H1 2023, we increased it by $19 million and expect to maintain the rate,” Anatoly Sivak said.
In his words, joint efforts have helped implement a number of agreements and ideas that were discussed at the previous meeting of the intergovernmental commission and during the Belarusian-Kyrgyz business forum.”As a positive example, I would like to cite the launch of joint production of Mogilevliftmash elevator equipment at a plant in Kyrgyzstan. The production localization has reached 25% in less than a year. The production plan for the current year is 100 elevators, and it is fulfilled on schedule. I believe that this is a good indicator which demonstrates the potential for the development of cooperation projects in Kyrgyzstan,” the deputy prime minister said.
Progress has been made on the issue to localize production of freight cars on the premises of Kyrgyz Railways. “However, here our enterprises are only at the beginning of this path. We hope that their experience of interaction will also be productive,” Anatoly Sivak added.
He also stressed that the mutual interest in the liberalization of international cargo transportation allowed to sign amendments to the Intergovernmental Agreement on International Road Transport. These amendments provide for the transition to a permit-free basis for carriers of both states to perform international road transportation of goods to/from third countries. Now all types of international road transportation of goods and irregular transportation of passengers between Belarus and Kyrgyzstan will be carried out without permits.
According to the deputy prime minister, the parties have signed a basic agreement which provides for the Development Bank to open a credit line to a Kyrgyz bank to finance Belarusian supplies to Kyrgyzstan. “I urge counterparts to use this new opportunity to increase mutual trade,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan hosted the first Days of Culture of Belarus in June 2023. “This was a notable event in the cultural life of the Kyrgyz capital and a good gift for the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our states. We expect that next year Kyrgyz figures of culture will bring their shows to Minsk,” Anatoly Sivak said.
Among other promising areas of bilateral cooperation, he named the processing of solid domestic waste, participation of Belarusian enterprises in the construction of railroad infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan, development of urban planning documentation. “The traditional areas of our interaction - supplies of Belarusian machinery, agriculture, healthcare, tourism - will not be left without discussion, too,” the deputy prime minister said.
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