Senate ratifies agreement on provision of $100 million in assistance to Kyrgyzstan

ASTANA. KAZINFORM Kazakh Senate approved the bill "On Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic on Development of Economic Cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Integration," Kazinform correspondent reports.

"The agreement was signed on December 26, 2016, in St. Petersburg. In accordance with the agreement, the Kazakh side, in order to facilitate the processes of the Kyrgyz Republic integration into the Eurasian Economic Union, will render the Kyrgyz Republic in assistance to the Kyrgyz Republic. This assistance will be provided to the Kyrgyz Republic for the implementation of the activities of "road maps" for the Kyrgyz Republic's accession EAEU," said the Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov.

According to the minister, the assistance is aimed at improving the customs infrastructure in the Kyrgyz section of the customs border of the EAEU, bringing the sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary systems of the Kyrgyz Republic into compliance with the requirements of the Union. The money will be provided in stages, in accordance with individual intergovernmental protocols on technical assistance in the form of cash, training services, and goods. The agreement also provides for the adoption of a separate protocol on the procedure for providing assistance and monitoring its use.

As Suleimenov said, the mechanism for allocating aid is the following. In order for us to form the next tranche of assistance, the Kyrgyz side will have to provide a list of activities, as well as a conclusion on the availability of documents confirming the appropriateness and validity of assistance provision. In turn, the Kazakh side will be reviewing the documents submitted for their appropriateness and compliance with the "road maps" activities and, in a case of a positive decision, and agree on the cost estimate. After that, the cost estimate is approved by a protocol on technical assistance. In order to control the targeted and effective use of assistance within the Kazakh-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Council, a joint bilateral audit commission will be established. The results of the audit will be formalized in the form of a conclusion-certificate and sent to the Intergovernmental Council to make a decision on the appropriateness of further financing.