The Ready4Trade Central Asia project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre, launched a Trade Facilitation Portal in Kazakhstan to reduce the time and cost to do trade across borders. The portal provides a detailed description of all the import, export and transit formalities, including required documents, forms and applicable regulations and procedures.

It covers more than 50 commodities traded across the border with a focus on the agri-food sector.

Kestutis Jankauskas, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Kazakhstan: “Today, with the launch of the Kazakhstan Trade Portal, the European Union is delighted to witness Kazakhstan’s commitment to sustainable and inclusive economic development in Central Asia facilitated by the EU-funded Ready4Trade Central Asia project. This portal is a cutting-edge technological tool providing single source of information on trade formalities, which will ensure the transparency of trade procedures.”

“Since August 2020, QazTrade has been an institutional partner of the Ready4Trade Central Asia project and the coordinator of all work on the development and launch of the trade portal of Kazakhstan. Given the urgency of increasing interest in increasing supplies by sea transport and expanding the potential of ports on the Caspian Sea, for the first time, a step-by-step documentation of the business processes of import and export operations of seaports was carried out. Also, our experts compared information on trade procedures at checkpoints on the border of Kazakhstan with neighboring countries. I am confident that the Trade Portal will become a guide for all trading procedures, the work on which will strengthen the ability of enterprises to comply with trade formalities and standards,” concluded QazTrade CEO Azamat Askaruly.

In Kazakhstan, the platform was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Integration and the “QazTrade” Trade Policy Development Center” JSC, which was appointed as a national partner for the implementation of the portal.

“Since the entry into force of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement in February 2017, Kazakhstan has come a long way reforming its regulatory framework and policies to provide a conducive business environment, which helped our country to become a global player in international trade, trading with 190 countries. With the introduction of the Kazakhstan Trade Portal, we go further to contribute to sustainable and comprehensive economic development not only for Kazakhstan, but for the entire Central Asian region,” said Aliya Alimbetova, Director of the Department of Foreign Trade Activities, Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

To ensure the portal’s full ownership by Kazakhstan, the Ready4Trade has supported QazTrade to establish a working group on the portal composed of 23 members representing 12 state bodies, organizations, and business associations. The working group regularly met to ensure the update of the portal.

Timothee Bruneteau, trade facilitation expert at ITC responsible for the development of the platform stated:

“This type of Trade Facilitation Portal is a state-of-the-art solution to close the information gap of MSMEs on cross-border trade formalities. It will provide a vital stimulus to traders and boost the competitiveness of Kazakhstan in international markets.”

At present, this platform developed by ITC in partnership with UNCTAD is successfully used in around 30 countries all over the globe and is already available in neighboring Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

It contributes to the achievement of the goal of trade facilitation embedded in the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

Ready4Trade Central Asia

The International Trade Centre’s Ready4Trade Central Asia project supports the development of intra-regional and international trade in five Central Asian countries. The four-year initiative is a trade component of a larger EU-funded programme that supports investment, competitiveness and trade, thus contributing to sustainable and inclusive economic development in the region. The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Trade Centre.