Kazakhstan and International Trade Centre strengthens cooperation on E-commerce

On 25 November 2020, the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva Zhanar Aitzhanova participated in the 54th meeting of the Joint Advisory Group of the International Trade Centre (ITC) dedicated to the main results of the Organization's activities in 2019 and the future work for the next years.

Executive Director of the ITC P.Coke-Hamilton, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development M.Kituyi, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization Y.Agah, Permanent Representatives and diplomats from over 40 countries also attended the meeting.

The Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan Zh.Aitzhanova in her statement highlighted a productive cooperation with the ITC for many years through various projects and initiatives on the development of trade. In particular, with support of European Union Kazakhstan and the ITC started a new regional project “Ready4Trade Central Asia” this year that aims to support trade in countries of Central Asia. The implementation of the project in Kazakhstan will develop two key areas: trade facilitation and E-commerce.

The implementation of the first part supports the necessary reforms to enhance the transparency of trade regulatory requirements, remove regulatory and procedural barriers to trade as well as simplify existing procedures for cross-border trade.

In addition, Zh. Aitzhanova informed that in close partnership with the ITC andUNCTAD it is planned to develop a comprehensive national legal framework of Kazakhstan on E-commerce. The development of national regulation is important and necessary in light of Kazakhstan’s participation in the WTO negotiations on a new global E-commerce rule.

In conclusion, the Kazakh diplomat emphasized that many countries face similar challenges in the on-going WTO negotiations on E-commerce, because of the lack of relevant legal and institutional framework. In this regard, Kazakhstan's experience can serve as a role model of cooperation for other countries with the ITC and UNCTADon E-commerce.