6 January 2021, at the WTO (World Trade Organization) Headquarters, the Kyrgyz Republic participated in the seventh review of India's trade policy. The Trade Policy Review Mechanism is a system of collective monitoring by all WTO member countries of individual countries ' trade policies and their compliance with WTO rules, norms and obligations.
Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between the Kyrgyz Republic and the Republic of India is steadily and systematically developing. On a bilateral basis, the Kyrgyz Republic and India established an intergovernmental commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation.
In addition to bilateral cooperation, the Kyrgyz Republic and India also cooperate closely on a multilateral basis within the framework of international organizations and initiatives such as the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the WTO. Currently, the Eurasian Economic Union and India are engaged in an active dialogue on the possibilities of further cooperation.
During the review, the Kyrgyz Republic, in the person of representative DOE CU on WTO N. Maksutov, made a speech and mentioned India as a reliable trading partner for the Kyrgyz Republic, and stressed that since the beginning of WTO membership, India has positioned itself as a country member, firmly adhering to the course of the liberalization of the multilateral trading system and WTO rules, as evidenced by the adoption by India of the Protocol and ratification of the trips Agreement on trade facilitation.
According to N. Maksutov, trade, economic and partnership relations between the two countries are gradually strengthening, as evidenced by regular official visits of delegations of both countries on a mutual basis, including at a high level, which create favorable conditions for discussing trade and investment issues between the two countries. Among the latest steps is the holding of a business forum in 2019 with the participation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the Prime Minister of India.
N. Maksutov emphasized that the level of trade and economic relations does not correspond to the existing potential. As the representative from the Kyrgyz Republic said: "Kyrgyzstan is interested in filling this gap. Our countries have held a number of business events that should serve as an impetus for the further development of economic relations."
Regarding the trade turnover between the Kyrgyz Republic and India, the representative from Kyrgyzstan said that the countries have established mutually beneficial mutual trade, and the dynamics of trade turnover from 2016 to 2019 shows a positive trend.
The Kyrgyz Republic provided basic statistics on volumes and goods traded with India. Thus, the dynamics of trade turnover between the Kyrgyz Republic and India from 2016 to 2019 shows a positive trend. Kyrgyzstan's exports to India increased by 69% in the period from 2016 to 2019 (an increase from 1.06 to 1.79 million US dollars). Kyrgyzstan's exports to India during this period mainly consisted of honey, meat and fish products, beans, medicinal plants, tanned leather, including defense industry products.
As for the import of goods from India to the Kyrgyz Republic, during the period 2016-2019, there was an increase in the volume of imports by 85% (an increase from 22.6 to 42.01 million US dollars). Imports from India during this period consisted of cosmetics, mechanical engineering products, light industry products: textiles and footwear, food products like tea and coffee, spices, rice, etc.
With regard to trade in services, the representative of the Kyrgyz Republic noted that tourism, education and IT services were very attractive for strengthening the potential of trade relations in the service sector.
During the meeting, the member countries gave a positive assessment of the trade reforms carried out by India, and also wished a successful review of the Trade Policy.
In turn, the Third Trade Policy Review of the Kyrgyz Republic is scheduled for May 18-20, 2021. At present, the Ministry of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic and the relevant departments are working to conduct the above-mentioned review at a qualitative level.
