ArmInfo. For the first time in 7 years of membership in the Eurasian Economic Union, the Republic of Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic took a step towards each other by holding the 1st meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission. The Armenian side was chaired by Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan, and the Kyrgyz side was chaired by Minister of Economy and Commerce Daniyar Amangeldiev.
Following the meeting, the parties signed a protocol, under which they agreed to develop cooperation in the trade and economic sphere, in the field of industry, industrial cooperation, SMEs, digital transformation, IT, postal services, energy, agriculture, healthcare, education, tourism, labor, social protection, environment, etc.
In a conversation with journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, Vahan Kerobyan said that at the moment trade relations between the countries are at an early stage. As a result of the visit of the Kyrgyz delegation to Armenia, it was possible to identify sectors from which the parties will begin to deepen cooperation. In particular, as the minister noted, we are talking about cooperation in agriculture, namely in planting intensive gardens, in the field of fisheries, as well as the possibility of opening the TUMO Center for Creative Technologies , branches of the Armenian ANEL and ARMAT engineering laboratories in Kyrgyzstan.
Answering a question from ArmInfo, the Armenian minister stressed that the Kyrgyz market for Armenia may be interesting in the context of the potential of the energy sector and the possibilities of agriculture. "The country has a great potential for hydropower, solar energy, which is also an interesting topic for us," Kerobyan emphasized. At the same time, he noted that Armenia is also interested in expanding trade with China, for which it is possible to use the capabilities of Kyrgyzstan, which is neighboring China.
Minister of Economy and Commerce Daniyar Amangeldiev stressed in his turn that the Armenian-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Commission was established to increase the potential of bilateral cooperation and trade volumes. In addition to the sectors noted by Minister Kerobyan, Daniyar Amangeldiev also noted that there is an understanding between the parties on interaction in the light industry. "We have accumulated sufficient experience in this area, in particular, in the clothing industry, which occupies a certain place in the structure of imports from the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. We are going to increase cooperation with Armenia in this field as well," he stressed. At the same time, the minister expressed readiness to study the Armenian experience in the cultivation and development of unproductive lands. He also spoke about the possibilities of establishing trade and logistics centers, cooperation between business circles, organizing business forums, etc. "I think we have a fairly large potential that has not been used until today," he concluded.
It should be noted that according to the signed protocol, the next meeting of the Armenian-Kyrgyz intergovernmental commission will be held in 2023 in Bishkek. According to the RA Statistical Committee, the foreign trade turnover between Armenia and Kyrgyzstan in January-August 2022 amounted to only $2.9 million, which is 90.8% higher than a year ago. At the same time, exports amounted to $2.7 million, with a y-o-y growth of 80.6%, while imports grew 5.4-fold to $236 thousand.
