ASTANA, Kazakhstan, December 4. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of key agreements against the backdrop of growing bilateral trade during the 12th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan Intergovernmental Council, Trend reports.
The Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, and the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Head of the Administration of the President of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Japarov, held the 12th meeting of the Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan Intergovernmental Council in Bishkek.
The meeting discussed issues related to expanding trade and economic cooperation based on agreements reached at the level of the heads of both states. During the session, the parties noted the steady positive dynamics across the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation.
"We highly value our relations, built on friendship, brotherhood, and good neighborliness. The Government of Kazakhstan will make every effort to further develop Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan cooperation," noted Olzhas Bektenov.
The Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers, Akylbek Japarov, also emphasized the importance of further cooperation development.
It was noted that achieving the joint goal of increasing mutual trade to $3 billion by 2030 is supported by the implementation of a project to construct an Industrial Trade and Logistics Complex near the "Karasu" and "Ak-Tilek" border crossing points. Land plots have been allocated for the construction, and a regional industrial zone, "Alatau," has been created in the Zhambyl region.
The parties also expressed interest in implementing a project for the construction of the "Almaty-Issyk-Kul" road. A decision was made to begin work on developing the feasibility study for a new route, "Almaty–Uzynagash–Kastek–Mikhaylovka–Cholpon-Ata," with a length of 280 km, funded by grants from the Asian Development Bank.
As a result, several documents were signed, including the final protocol of the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Council, a roadmap for increasing mutual agricultural product supplies, and a memorandum of cooperation in tourism development.
Notably, in the first 8 months of this year, the volume of export-import freight transport by road between the two countries increased by 4.1 percent, reaching 3 million tons. Additionally, trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan exceeded $1.2 billion in the first 9 months of this year, marking a 1.6 percent increase compared to the same period in 2023.