Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
The international center for cross-border cooperation (ICBC) “Khorgos” (Kazakhstan) - a new type of cross-border zone of trade and economic cooperation in the world - is one of the important mechanisms for promoting the national economic interests of Kazakhstan and China within the framework of the "Nurly Zhol" [Bright way] and "Silk Road Economic Belt" programs, the President of JSC ICBC "Khorgos" Kaharman Jazin told Trend.
He noted that, the ICBC "Khorgos" is not a purely Kazakh-Chinese project, but a project of cross-border trade and economic cooperation aimed at a broad representation of the business community.
Jazin said the main goals and objectives facing Kazakhstan and China are to strengthen mutual trust and good neighborliness, effective cooperation in political, trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural fields, as well as in the field of transport and tourism.
"ICBC "Khorgos" was granted the status of a special economic zone (SEZ) by the resolution of the government of Kazakhstan last year. This contributes to the creation of favorable conditions for the development of business and investment in the territory of Kazakhstan. Participants of ICBC "Khorgos" will be exempt from payment of basic taxes, such as land tax, property tax, corporate income tax, there is also a zero VAT rate for goods sold in the SEZ territory, and the absence of quotas for attracting foreign labor, " said Jazin.
He noted that, the partners of ICBC “Khorgos” in the Eurasian Union show great interest and see the project as a unique platform for the promotion of their goods for export.
"We all know that the participants of foreign economic activity are faced with the problem of entering foreign markets, lack of relevant analytics, problems at the borders and so on. In this regard, ICBC “Khorgos” is a permanently functioning forum or, if you prefer, an exhibition of its own products. After all, our center has a favorable geographical location – it is no mere chance that the ancient Silk Road passed through Khorgos, and in modern realities its importance only increases every year," said Jazin.
The president of ICBC said the economic attractiveness of the center is also supported by the development of transport routes, as ICBC "Khorgos" is located on the Almaty – Khorgos section of the international motor highway corridor "Western Europe – Western China".
"The similar corridor, but a railway one, passes through Khorgos. As you know, just through that corridor, the container trains travel to Europe, Central Asia, as well as to the Caucasus, Afghanistan, and Turkey. In addition, a special economic zone "Khorgos – Eastern Gates" with industrial and logistics areas and dry port Khorgos Gateway, which provides services for the transportation of goods is actively built in the region", said Jazin.
He noted that, the partners of ICBC "Khorgos" have the opportunity to enter the new markets such as China, EEU, CIS and South-East Asia, with minimum cost and maximum benefit
"Everyone wins, and we regard this as the uniqueness of our project based on the principles of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and the desire for joint development," said the president of the ICBC.
ICBC "Khorgos" is a unique project of two countries - Kazakhstan and China. It is a center of trade, economic, tourism and investment cooperation. It consists of the Kazakh and Chinese parts, located on the adjacent near-border territories of the two states and connected by a special passage crossing the state border.