A special duty-free trade zone can be established on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border
A special duty-free trade zone may be established on the Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan border. At the interregional forum held in Samarkand, the governor of Mangistau region put forward this proposal. It was also reported that the highway connecting Mangistau and Uzbekistan is under construction.
At the joint interregional forum of the governments of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan held in Samarkand on October 22, the governor of Mangistau region, Nurdaulet Qilibai, made a number of proposals to expand trade and economic relations between Mangistau region and Uzbekistan. This was reported by Gazeta.uz with reference to the press service of the Mang'istau hokimity.
It is noted that the highway connecting Mangistau and Uzbekistan is under construction. Car travel is carried out to the Tajen customs post on the territory of Kazakhstan. Recently, a new highway from the center of Karakalpakstan to the border of the country was commissioned. It was noted that this will allow to increase the volume of trade between Mangistau region and Uzbekistan in the future.
According to Nurdavlet Qilibai, most of the food products, vegetables, fruits and dried fruits in the wholesale markets of the region are brought from the fields of Bukhara, Samarkand, Nukus and Syrdarya of Uzbekistan. About 250-300 furas pass through the "Tajen" customs post per day, of which on average 25-30 furas are sent to Mangistau region. This means about 11 thousand tons of products.
"Our delegation includes the founder of ORTs Aktau LLC, one of the largest wholesale distribution centers of the country. At the moment, they are fully ready to provide the necessary trade space and are waiting for the concrete steps of Uzbek entrepreneurs. We would like to open a "Made in Uzbekistan" trading platform there and organize agricultural fairs," said Nurdavlet Qilibai.
Also, at the interregional forum, the governor of Mang'istau region proposed to establish a duty-free special trade zone called "Khorgos" in the border area in order to further expand trade relations between the two countries. It was shown that the opening of the trade and economic zone will allow to increase the volume of trade between Mangistau region and Uzbekistan by 4 times.
In addition, cooperation in the fields of tourism and agriculture was discussed at the meeting. For example, it was noted that tour operators of Uzbekistan have developed tour packages that include visits to historical, cultural and touristic places of the Mangistau region and are ready to start their activities from 2025.
At the end of the meeting, an agreement on cooperation was signed between the administration of Mangistau region and the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Beyneu and Khojaly districts.
For information, 140 enterprises with the participation of Uzbekistan are registered in Mangistau region. By the end of 2023, the territory's foreign trade turnover with Uzbekistan amounted to 13.2 million dollars. The share of imports from Uzbekistan in the total turnover is about 25 percent.
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