Kyrgyzstan committed to integration within CIS - premier
ASTANA. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan unwaveringly supports the strengthening of integration processes among the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Kyrgyz Prime Minister Mukhammedkaliy Abylgaziyev said at a meeting of the CIS countries' prime ministers in Astana.
"The Kyrgyz government's stance on cooperation within the CIS remains unchanged. We are committed to further strengthening integration between the CIS member states and bolstering multilateral interaction," the Kyrgyz government's press service quoted Abylgaziyev as saying at the meeting.
Promoting cooperation in trade, the economy, culture, and humanitarian issues and interaction in ensuring security and countering new challenges and threats remain among the priorities of contacts between the CIS countries, he said.
"I would like to stress that over the past two years we taken certain steps to adapt our organization to today's realities within the framework of the decision adopted by the CIS Council of Heads of State in Bishkek on September 16, 2016 to undertake a series of organizational and practical measures aimed at making the work of the CIS' constituent and subject-specific bodies more effective," Abylgaziyev said.
The organization's agencies in charges of different issues ought to focus on the practical implementation of the provisions of the decision on adapting the CIS to modern-day realities, including tackling practical issues surrounding interaction within one sector and between different industries, he said. Abylgaziyev also reaffirmed the need to make the most of the potential offered by the Free Trade Area Treaty, which is "a principal instrument for further broadening trade and economic ties between our countries."
"All of us know that there is large untapped potential in this field. Being a supporter of the creation of conditions that would benefit mutual trade as much as possible, the Kyrgyz side wants further steps to be taken to further reduce the number of protective measures and remove excessive barriers in trade," the Kyrgyz premier said.
Abylgaziyev also came up with an initiative to hold a forum of regional governors from the CIS countries.
"I believe that this initiative will facilitate the joint work to diversify the range of export and import operations, establish joint ventures, promote cooperation to introduce new technologies and innovations into all sectors of the economy, and encourage environmentally friendly production enterprises, which may help significantly bolster economic ties between our regions within the CIS," Abylgaziyev said.