Azerbaijan, Baku April 13 / Trend V. Zhavoronkova /
The process of Kyrgyzstan's joining the Customs Union must be carefully worked out. One must not hurry in this issue, Kyrgyz expert Sergei Masaulov said.
"One should not be in a hurry to sign all the protocols not to encounter a huge number of unexamined issues (in the issue of the country's joining the Customs Union)," analyst of the Kyrgyz Integrated Research Fund "Forsite" Masaulov told Trend.
The Kyrgyz government approved the staff of the Interdepartmental Commission on the Republic's joining the Customs Union and Common Economic Union. Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev said that the country plans to join the Single Economic Space from January 1, 2012. The country will remain a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The expert said that one must seriously consider Kyrgyzstan's joining the Customs Union.
"All the issues such as price increase, tariff changes and others, must be carefully worked out beforehand," Masaulov said.
He said that joining the Customs Union has the economic basis as opposed to the membership of the Central Asian republic into the WTO, which has the political basis.
There are no contradictions with our presence in WTO.
"Another thing is that one has to work much, as WTO requires coordinating of more than 4,000 positions," he said. This is a giant expert work."
In its time Kyrgyzstan's joining WTO allowed the country to re-export Chinese goods. But now the situation has changed dramatically.
Kyrgyz Minister of Economic Regulation Uchkun Tashbaev stressed that after July 1, the countries of the Customs Union will strengthen the tariff, non-tariff and administrative measures at the external borders. It will reduce re-export.
"The countries of the Customs Union have already implemented the measures to reduce re-export from China," he said. Re-exports will be reduced in any case, whether we join the Customs Union or not."
In its economy this Central Asian country depends on Russia and Kazakhstan now, the analyst added.
"The amount of money received by Kyrgyzstan from these countries is more than all the other major economic indicators," he said.
First, Kyrgyzstan must have relations with the countries with a high level of migrant workers.
First, Bishkek gets the coordinated positions and normal position of migrant workers, the analyst said.
Finally, Kyrgyzstan will be able to solve these and similar complex issues and gain some perspective on the economy, he said.
"Kyrgyzstan does not have the economy yet," he said. Bishkek receives basis and the world's format for building the economy in the country.
Joining Customs Union is a necessary measure, which has a right to exist, he said.
According to the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economic Regulation, the trade turnover with the countries of the Customs Union last year amounted to $2.238 billion. It increased by 8,4 percent compared to 2009. The exports totaled over $715 million (27.8 percent) and import - $1,522 million (1.2 percent).
In this case, the countries of the Customs Union hit 44.9 percent in the total foreign trade of Kyrgyzstan, exports - 40.6 percent, imports - 47.2 percent. Russia has the biggest share in the turnover of Kyrgyzstan - 26,9 percent, Kazakhstan - 16.8 percent, Belarus - 1.2 percent.
The Customs Union is an interstate agreement to establish a single customs area, signed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was applied in July 2010.