Expert: Kyrgyzstan to lose nothing by joining Customs Union

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 3 / Trend 3 / Trend, V. Zhavoronkova / Despite fears in the country, Kyrgyzstan will not lose anything if it joins the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, independent Kyrgyz expert, doctor of economic sciences, professor Ayilchy Sarybaev said. Kyrgyzstan's possible joining of the Customs Union raises numerous concerns in the country. The observers believe that the accession will lead to many negative consequences, including significant price increases in the country and that Kyrgyzstan will become dependent on other members of the organization. The republic's leadership has expressed the political will to join the organization, but the exact date of Kyrgyzstan's joining the union is unknown. The Kyrgyz government thinks that the Republic is a favorable transit country and an object for making investments for the Customs Union. "I believe that our partners and neighbor-members of the Customs Union are interested in Kyrgyzstan's joining the regional organization with its advantages, high transit potential, available and qualified labor force," Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev told the participants of the "Kyrgyzstan moves towards Eurasian integration" international conference, which began on March 29. He added that any country must strive as much as possible to develop its export and import relations with any other country, especially with its neighbors. "Kazakhstan (one of the Customs Union members) and Kyrgyzstan are the neighboring country," the expert told Trend over phone. He said that the parties had to create the Customs Union, as they were not accepted into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and that the Union was founded as opposed to it. At present, Kazakhstan is in the process of accession to the WTO and Russia has recently joined. Kyrgyzstan will lose nothing after joining the Customs Union in these circumstances. "It will be profitable for Kyrgyzstan to develop bilateral economic relations with these neighboring countries and within other organizations as Russia and Kazakhstan will also be part of the WTO and work in accordance with the rules of the organization," he added. He stressed that Kyrgyzstan has nothing to offer to the Customs Union. "Kyrgyzstan will join the organization as a weak side and a consumer," he said. "It is a political, rather than an economic action for its current members." After joining, Kyrgyzstan will have the opportunity to receive raw materials from the organization's member-states in a more profitable way. The price on essential goods imported from China may slightly increase in the country. The Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus was established in 2010. The purpose of the CU is the formation of a single customs territory, within which no customs duties or economic limitations are applied, excluding special protective, antidumping and countervailing measures. The single economic space of the Customs Union started operating on January 1, 2012. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az