General Director of JSC “Center for Trade Policy Development” QazTrade “Azamat Askaruly spoke at the opening of the 11th Central Asian Trade Forum, which was held under the title “Post-Covid Recovery Through Better Connectivity.”
“One of the growth points in the long term is the regionalization of trade and the strengthening of the connectivity of the Central Asian region Askaruly said. This will be facilitated, among other things, by the formation of a network of wholesale distribution centers, the creation of the International Trade Center “Central Asia” on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
“Formation of accelerated logistics services on the market will allow to reduce the cost by 25-30% and twice the delivery time. By the way, today, work is underway to launch the Eurasian Agroexpress with the participation of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and there are plans to create a whole route network with access to the markets of Europe and Asia,” QazTrade General Director said.
Within the session «Post-COVID trade trends,” QazTrade Deputy General Director Asel Yegemberdieva shared the experience of Kazakhstan in supporting domestic business during the pandemic.
“Promptly taken measures to support Kazakhstani business allowed us to avoid a decline in non-primary exports in 2020: the decline was only 2.8%,” Yegemberdieva noted. Moreover, this despite the fact that in 2020, lockdowns led to a drop in demand for non-food products by almost 20%.
She also said that the experience of QazTrade in 2020 is actively used at the current time. Thus, the telegram channel, created at the beginning of the pandemic, is actively functioning, where emergency calls are received on the export of non-primary goods by SMEs. Export acceleration program has been launched.
During the pandemic, the support of companies for the entry of Kazakhstani companies to the Alibaba platform became relevant. According to the Memorandum signed between QazTrade and Alibaba, the Company will assist companies in their operation on the platform, organize monthly trainings, and contribute to the digital transformation of Kazakhstani suppliers.
Together with the AIFC, the educational program “Smart Export” is being launched, where we will tell you about all the intricacies of foreign trade. Particular emphasis will be placed on new promotion tools, taking into account the post-Covid situation, safety requirements and product quality.
As part of the QazTrade partnership with the Central Asian Forum, a Roundtable was held on “Post-Covid Business Support Ecosystem In Central Asia,” which was moderated by QazTrade Deputy General Director Nurlan Kulbatyrov. Representatives of USAID CTJ, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Trade Center, as well as Deputy Director of the Export Agency under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, Former Vice-Prime Minister of Georgia also took part in the roundtable meeting.
The parties noted that the export promotion infrastructure is one of the top priorities for all Central Asian countries. Every country in the region is making efforts to transform existing infrastructure or create new institutions to support non-resource exports. Participants reviewed national measures and regional initiatives aimed at creating information and support centers for local companies planning to develop export markets.
“Soft infrastructure, namely non-financial measures are in demand among beginning exporters and the CA countries should exchange knowledge and experience in these matters,” Nurlan Kulbatyrov said.
