KYRGYZSTAN AND THE VIRTUAL REGIONAL RELATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA THE CASE OF TRADE

YearEvent or Agreement 1981Agreement on Water 14 July Agreement on Water 22 August Ashgabat meeting 1992Declaration of prime ministers on continuation of existing arrangements for water management, February 1992, Almaty. 1992Regional organisation tsentralnoi asiatskoi regionaloi sotrudnychestvo (TsARS) formed by all five Central Asian countries, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan pulls out shortly after 1993Declaration from February 1992 on water affirmed by heads of states in city of Nukus, Uzbekistan 1994Dogovor o sosdanie eginogo ekonomicheskogo prostranstvo, 30 April Cholpon-Ata (on the basis of preliminary agreements signed in January 1993 and February1993), functioned as a legal base for the organisation that was later named‘ Tsentralnoi Asiatskoe ekonomicheskoe soobshestvo’ TsAES 1994States agree to found an inter-state council of heads of states and a Council of prime ministers, council of foreign ministers and council of defence ministers, and also an executive organ in continuous function : the ‘implementing committee’ (Ispolnitelni komitet), 8 Almaty July 1994The Central Asian Development Bank established 1995Member states agree on a five year integration plan, 24 April, Bishkek 1996December joint council of defence ministers decides to create tripartite defence unit ‘Centrasbat’ 1996Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan sign treaty of eternal friendship 1997Heads of state meeting discuss implementation of agreement on common economic space, agreement adopted on the formation of consortiums in spheres such as water, food and communications are discussed for the first time march Tajikistan joins the 1994 agreement and the organisation is officially given the name ‘ Tsentralnoi Asiatskoe ekonomicheskoe soobshestvo’ TsAES. 1998A UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPEKA) is launched in the context of the march TAES heads of state meeting, it is agreed that SPEKA should include: development of transport, energy and water co- operation, conducting international economic conference on development in Tajikistan, and restructuring of industry. 2000April Agreement on fighting terrorism, extremism, and transborder organised crime, agreement intended to facilitate intelligence sharing, covert operations and armed forces co-operation. The council of heads of states meet with a Special representative of the President of Russia 2000August 2000, Kyrgyzstan proposes a joint taskforce for the destruction of militant bases in Tajikistan – proposition not agreed on by the other states 2001Statement by heads of states on the intention to transform the structure and emphasis of TAES, Tashkent 29 December 2002TAES is officially transformed into Tsentral’no-Aziatskoe Sotrudnichestvo, TAS 28 February The implementing committee is abolished and an institute of national co-ordinators is established 2002Karimov launches idea of common market 2004Idea of consortium re-launched, President Nazarbaev calls for support from World Bank, ADB and IDB 2005Russia changes from observer status to full member of TAS, 29 May, Astana meeting

Table: Total payments (official and non-official) spent by Kazakhstani and Kyrgyzstani truck drivers at inspection posts in Kazakhstan (currency 152 Kazakh tenge = 1 USD) [1] [1] Inspection post Kazakhstani truck driversKyrgyzstani truck drivers Minimu m Maximu m AverageMinimu m Maximu m Average Customs post Sanitary post Traffic police Ecology post Transport weight inspection [1] [1] Pragma corporation 2002 ‘Transport barriers between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan’ Report

Table: Time spent by Kazakhstani and Kyrgyzstani truck drivers at inspection posts in Kazakhstan [1] [1] Inspection post Kazakhstani truck driversKyrgyzstani truck drivers Number of inspection posts Total time (hours) Number of inspection posts Total time (hours) Customs post From 2 to 7 1 to 3.5From 3 to 9From 46.5 to Sanitary post 1From 1 to 4From 0,5 to 2,0 Traffic police From 4 to to 4.8From 10 to 20From 5 to 10 Ecology post From 1 to to 0.3From 2 to 4From 0.6 to 1.2 Transport weight inspection From 1 to to 4From 4 to 8From 9 to 18 [1] [1] Pragma corporation 2002 ‘Transport barriers between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan’ Report

Photos: Alisher Saipov/fergana.ru

KYRGYZSTAN AND THE VIRTUAL REGIONAL RELATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA THE CASE OF TRADE Stina: