On 25 September the Government representatives from Central Asia and international organizations today began discussions on the barriers to border trade and trade tax regimes in the region, Trend reports citing a statement by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Fifth Trade Policy Co-ordinating Committee (TPCC) Meeting and Trade Policy Outreach Seminar are being organized over two days by ADB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Central Asia Regional Economic Co-operation (CAREC) program.
Attending are Government officials from Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, People's Republic of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; as well as representatives from ADB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IMF, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, and GTZ.
During the meeting, the country delegates reported on progress in carrying out recommendations from earlier TPCC meetings to reduce barriers to transit trade. The participants also discussed a study on Trade Taxes by the IMF and the preliminary work on barriers to border trade by Kazakhstan, as well as preparations for a paper on quantities restrictions to trade by ADB. GTZ also made a presentation on trade facilitation.
The participants noted that Central Asian countries need to improve co-operation with each other and neighboring countries to reduce barriers to trade relating, transit, border crossings, customs clearance, and trade tax regimes.
The Meeting participants will produce recommendations for consideration by the next Senior Officials' Meeting and the Fifth Ministerial Conference to be held during 18-20 October 2006 in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and China.