Kazakhstan may export goods worth $7 billion to Central Asia

Kazakhstan may export goods worth $7 billion to Central Asia (CA), Tengrinews reports citing Gaziza Shakhanova, managing director of the National Agency for Export and Investments Kaznex Invest, as saying at the 3rd Central-Asian Trade Forum in mid October. According to her, every CA country may give Kazakhstan a potential market of $1 billion. “Last year Kazakhstan exported goods worth $92.2 billion, including only around $3 billion worth of goods to CA countries. This is a relatively small share, two times less that we export to the Customs Union (CU) countries, i.e. we have exported goods worth $6.8 billion to the CU,” she noted. The head of USAID project on regional economic cooperation Viktor Prodedovich said that deals totally worth over $2 billion were be signed during the Forum. Meanwhile, last year the forum ended in signing of the deals totally worth $1 billion. According to the Forum’s organizers (USAID with support of Kaznex Invest, the Chamber of Commerce and Kazakhstan Embassy in Afghanistan), the increase in the amount of deals is partially related to this year’s Forum being tended by the delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan. This year around 600 people were discussing trade policies and the role of Central Asia in the global economy during two days of the Forum. Last year there were twice less participants. “Prominent trade experts from all the CA countries, plus Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Austria and the United States exchanged their opinions on export competitiveness of Central Asian states, membership in the WTO, promotion of export, trade financing and investments,” the organizers said. By Azhar Ashirova