Kyrgyzstan takes part in Trade Policy Review of Georgia at WTO Headquarters

Bishkek, Jan. 19, 2022 . / Kabar /. At the WTO (World Trade Organization) Headquarters, Kyrgyzstan took part in the Trade Policy Review of Georgia, the press service of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the republic said Wednesday.

Representative of the Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Commerce at the WTO Nurbek Maksutov made a statement on behalf of Kyrgyzstan.

At the beginning of his speech, Maksutov noted the progress made by Georgia in trade liberalization, where the country has demonstrated its highest commitment to WTO rules and norms.

"As a result, today Georgia has one of the most liberal foreign trade policies in the world with a simplified foreign trade regime and customs procedures, low import tariffs and minimal non-tariff regulation. This is really of great importance nowadays for the world trade," the representative of Kyrgyzstan said.

With regard to bilateral relations, he added that agreements have been signed between the two countries, which have laid a serious base in the legal framework that allows the development of mutually beneficial ties and diverse cooperation at the bilateral and international levels, especially within the UN, WTO and other international organizations

Nurbek Maksutov said that despite the spread of the pandemic, trade has shown a positive trend. In January-September, trade turnover between Kyrgyzstan and Georgia almost doubled compared to the same period last year and amounted to USD 17.3 million.

In conclusion, the speaker from the Kyrgyz side stressed that the above-mentioned indicators of bilateral economic cooperation do not correspond to the existing potential between the countries. It was proposed to intensify bilateral economic cooperation and launch a series of B2B and B2G events with Georgia.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism is a system of collective monitoring by all WTO member countries of the trade policies of individual countries and their compliance with WTO rules, norms and obligations.

The purpose of WTO member countries' trade policy reviews is to contribute to the effective functioning of the multilateral trading system by enhancing the transparency of WTO member countries' trade policies. All WTO members undergo a trade policy review process. Four countries with the biggest shares in the world trade (at the moment European Community, the USA, Japan and China) pass through the procedure every two years, the next 16 countries - every four years, the rest - every six years. A longer period can be defined for the least developed countries.