Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Economy and Commerce has announced that it has agreed with Kazakhstan not to introduce restrictions and bans on products licensed in Kyrgyzstan.
Kazinform information agency recently reported that Kazakhstan planned to introduce a ban on some products licensed in Kyrgyzstan from July 1, 2024.
According to the Committee for Technical Regulation and Metrology under the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan’s certification authorities used to issue quality certificates with violations and without conducting appropriate tests — the so-called “gray” certificates. As of the end of 2023, there were 413 testing laboratories in Kazakhstan and only 43 in Kyrgyzstan, but in 2022–2023, Kyrgyzstan issued much more quality certificates for products than Kazakhstan. In 2022, Kazakhstan cancelled 200 “gray” certificates issued in Kyrgyzstan, and in 2023 more than 300 “gray” certificates were canceled.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Economy and Commerce says that on March 13, it held consultations with the Ministry of Trade and Integration of Kazakhstan on joint measures to strengthen control of the assessment of products’ compliance with mandatory requirements. The parties agreed to jointly implement measures aimed at preventing the issuance of “gray certificates” without introducing restrictions on Kyrgyz products in Kazakhstan.
The move has again proven that Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are determined to resolve any problems in the spirit of strategic partnership and good neighborly relations.
