Kyrgyzstan to join customs union

Published time: October 19, 2011 14:30
Edited time: October 20, 2011 10:33
AFP Photo / Vyacheslav Oseledko

Kyrgyzstan will join Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in the Customs Union, with analysts stressing the need to strengthen trading ties when the global economy is shaky.

The prime ministers of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) members-states have given the nod to Kyrgyzstan's accession to the CustomsUnion, acting Kyrgyz Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov announced on Wednesday.

"The decision has been made today in a narrow format on Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Customs Union.”

An action plan for Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Customs Union would be adopted shortly, Babanov added, with a working group and its chairman still to be decided on soon.

Anna Bodrova, Investcafe analyst, says the move will strengthen Russia’s economy further, when other markets remain fragile.

“In essence, now another step to create a special economic zone has been made, which is so necessary for Russia while it still hasn’t entered WTO. Trade and economy ties with the neighboring countries are important for Moscow, the same way they are for Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

And though so far there’s no talk of creating neither a single currency, nor even a currency union, in the wake of the crisis burning out in Europe this strengthening of trade ties is now especially important. Also, it’s still not clear whether Russia will have joined WTO by the end of this year and whether it’ll be able to receive all trade preferences.”

Comments (3)

Enrique (unregistered) 21.10.2011 00:02

mg, it is the flag of Kyrgizstan. The flag of Macedona only has in common the colors.

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Enrique (unregistered) 21.10.2011 00:00

For less developed nations it is easier joining the Eurasian Economic Community than the European Union for two different reasons:
a) Their manufactured products would be still competitive while in the E.U. they would be wiped out as the technological and productivity levels of central countries (Germany, Nethelands, Sweden) are much higher. Yes, they would receive some subsidies...but better keep your manufacturing industry and agrobusiness alive.
b) There are less requirements for entry, both political and economic. Turkey already could join the Eurasian Community so instead of being the tail of the lion in Europe, it would be the head of the tiger in Eurasia as the Russian-Turkish Axis would be the equivalent of the Franco-German Axis in the European Union. Besides, Turkey and Russia are complementary  in Central Asia, where both the Russian language and diverse Turkic languages are official. And both have a similar level of development (income per head of $10,000 compared to $30,000 in the E.U.) 
As Turkey is already part of a Customs Union with the European Union (E.U.) a Free Trade Agreement with the Eurasian Community would need some negotiation but it is possible as proven by countries like Mexico or Chile, which have F.T.A. with both the U.S. and the E.U.

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mg 20.10.2011 02:37

Why is there a picture of the flag of FYR Macedonia in an article about Kyrgyzstan?

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