On April 24–25, the 13th Regional Meeting of the National Trade Facilitation Committees (NTFC) of Central Asian countries was held in Bishkek. The event brought together representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as international organizations and development partners to discuss digitalization, logistics reforms and trade policy assessment. Mukhtar Tolegen, Executive Director for Transport and Logistics, represented the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan Kazlogistics in the forum.
The participants discussed the effectiveness of the measures being implemented, their impact on business and the priorities of the private sector, including the development of paperless trade, the use of AI in logistics and the role of international indices such as Business Ready and LPI. Attention was also paid to the development of transit and increasing the competitiveness of the Trans-Caspian route, including through working groups.
The meeting was organized with the support of the GIZ project “Trade Facilitation in Central Asia”, implemented on behalf of the German government. The project aims to modernize the trading environment in the region, promote digital solutions and strengthen cooperation between the public and private sectors for sustainable trade development.