Azernews.Az

By Vusala Abbasova

Kyrgyzstan enters into a new stage of its economic integration by joining i the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Kyrgyzstan's agriculture production is competitive in the light of its upcoming integration with the EEU, said Temir Sariyev, the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan during his working trip to the county's agricultural enterprises.

During the trip, the prime minister attended the Shirin Alma gardening enterprise and praised the use of drip irrigation on the farm.

Kyrgyzstan has abundant water resources that allow export for irrigation to such neighboring countries as Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

How the membership in the EEU could effect on economic development of Kyrgyzstan and what can Kyrgyzstan offer to the Union?

"Indeed, Kyrgyzstan's membership in the EEU assures the successful promotion of Kyrgyzstan's agricultural products to EEC countries, especially to Kazakhstan and Russia," said Professor Nurudin Karabayev, dean of the Agronomy and Forestry Faculty of the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University in an interview to Polit Agency.

Karabayev noted that Kyrgyzstan's integration to the EEU will mean the introduction of a single customs tariff, a single system of economic protection measures, sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary control, regulation of relations with foreign markets. As a part of this integration, Kyrgyzstan's agriculture get access to supplies of mineral fertilizers, agricultural machinery, crop protection and high-yield seeds from Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. This surely will result in an increase in plant yield. In socio-economic terms, the removal of customs barriers and the growth of mutual trade will open up investment flow from more economically developed countries of the EEU to Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan has joined the Eurasian Economic Union on May 8, 2015. The document was signed by the heads of the Union's member countries. Now the protocol of Kyrgyzstan's accession should be ratified in the parliaments of the EEU member-countries.

President Almazbek Atambayev noted at the Eurasian Supreme Council's meeting in Moscow the importance of the membership agreement for the country.

During the Moscow meeting Bishkek signed an agreement on the abolition of customs control of goods and vehicles transported across the Kyrgyz-Kazakh borders and a program on gradual liberalization of performing carriers registered in the territory of one of the EEU member-states road transport of goods in the territory of another member state for the period from 2016 to 2025.

In addition, parties to the EEU meeting also inked a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Vietnam from the other side, and a concept of a common electricity market of the Eurasian Economic Union."

The joining of Kyrgyzstan in the EEU favorably effects the development of agriculture production, improving technologies and trade relationships. Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous agricultural country and agriculture is a leading sector of Kyrgyzstan's economy, accounting for approximately 24 percent of the country's GDP. Besides, about 64 percent of the country's population is living in rural areas and 14 percent of all people are working in the agriculture sphere. For comparison, this figure in developed countries amount only to 1-3 percent. That means that Kyrgyzstan's agriculture has not only economic but also social and political importance.

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