Kazakhstan: Commodity distribution system and cross-border electronic trading platform shall be established among the CIS countries

Nursultan, Kazakhstan, September 10, 2016 the COMMONWEALTH of Independent States (CIS) Economic Forum was held by video conference on September 9. Representatives of the CIS Executive Committee and member states discussed issues such as strengthening economic and trade cooperation, investment and industrial cooperation, logistics and digital cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the establishment of an online trading platform.

Attending the forum, Kazakh Minister of Trade and Integration Oleksandr Suldanov said that the outbreak crisis exposed the vulnerability of CIS countries, indicating that the degree of integration and economic and trade cooperation among member states is still lacking. By the end of 2019, mutual trade among THE CIS member states accounted for 18.4 percent of the total foreign trade of the CIS, down 2.5 percentage points from 2010. The EU's score is 60.7 per cent, NAFTA 40.1 per cent and ASEAN 22 per cent. The CIS countries should deepen regional integration, further enhance economic and trade links, create favorable conditions for developing industrial cooperation and enriching commodity structure, and enhance self-sufficiency.

The Soviet Union called for the establishment of a unified commodity distribution system among THE CIS countries and the integration of large wholesale distribution centers and agricultural products logistics centers in various countries, which would facilitate the rapid exchange of information, the establishment of cross-border electronic trading platforms and the promotion of exports to third countries. Countries can explore the establishment of cross-border wholesale distribution centers, such as the "Central Asia" international economic and trade cooperation center on the Sino-Ukrainian border.

The cis countries should be encouraged to regionalize production and industrial cooperation, establish high-tech industries and expand the transfer of capital to attract southeast Asia, China and other regions, Su said. We should make full use of the current adjustment period of international trade order, build advantageous industrial centers, improve infrastructure construction such as commodity logistics and distribution, and expand existing industrial cooperation. All CIS countries attach great importance to the development of cross-border e-commerce by using digital technology. They should improve relevant legislation, simplify e-commerce procedures, expand financing channels and combat cyber crimes, so as to create conditions for enterprises to enter international cross-border e-commerce platforms. The biggest problem of expanding mutual trade is to remove barriers, and digitization is an effective solution.