Kyrgyzstan intends to join Customs Union

BISHKEK, April 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Kyrgyzstan intends to join the
Customs Union. A corresponding decision was adopted at a meeting of the
republic's government here on Monday.
"It is very important for us to develop cooperation with the countries
with which we have traditional partnership relations," Minister of
Economic Development of the republic Uchkunbek Tashbayev said at the
meeting. "Now the economy of these states is on the rise and considerably
supplements our economy."
To solve procedural issues connected with the country's joining the
Customs Union, a special international commission was set up which will
hold talks on the country's joining the common economic space of Belarus,
Kazakhstan and Russia. The commission, according to Tashbayev, is to speed
up the solution of all technical issues. In the coming time, the
government of the republic is expected to send a corresponding application
for joining the Customs Union to its leadership.
According to official data, the share of the EurAsEC member-countries
in Kyrgyzstan's export is equal to 44 percent. The main part of
export-import operations belongs to Russia.
In contrast to Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, Kyrgyzstan is a member
of the World Trade Organization. However, Bishkek believes that this
circumstance will in no way influence the republic's possibility to join
the Customs Union. The Kyrgyz government hopes that the final decision on
the republic's joining the Customs Union will be adopted during a meeting
of the heads of state of the Customs Union in September of the current
year. "We'll join the Customs Union remaining a WTO member," Kyrgyz Prime
Minister Almazbek Atambayev said.