Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan sign deals at regional cooperation forum in BishkekKazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan signed a series of agreements, including on trade and economic cooperation, at the Second Regional Cooperation Forum in Bishkek, where the two countries' prime ministers met, the Kazakh government's press service said.The documents include a 2026-2030 plan for sister-city ties between Almaty and Bishkek, and new partnerships linking Turkistan with the city of Manas and the Shchuchinsk-Burabay resort area with the Issyk-Kul lake resort area.Other agreements aim to expand cooperation with Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul, Jalal-Abad and Naryn regions.The two sides also signed commercial deals on trade, exports and selling Kazakh products in Kyrgyzstan.Bilateral trade rose 33% in 2025 to $2.4 billion and is up another 20% this year from the same period in 2025.The two countries' leaders want to raise bilateral trade to $3 billion.Border regions will carry much of the load in expanding economic ties. Kazakhstan's Almaty and Zhambyl regions border Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul, Talas and Chui regions along a frontier of about 1,200 km. Zhambyl is a focus as a hub for cross-border trade and logistics: seven of the eight checkpoints on the Kazakh-Kyrgyz border are there, and more than 1,000 companies with Kyrgyz participation operate in the region. A joint industrial trade and logistics complex in Zhambyl is among the more promising projects.Rail freight between the two countries rose 10% in 2025 to 6.8 million tonnes, and 5.1 million tonnes moved in the first nine months of 2026, up 8.3% from a year earlier.Road freight grew 37% last year to 3.7 million tonnes. Switching to electronic permit exchanges has made transport procedures simpler.Tourism also has significant potential. The two countries see room for joint mountain, eco, beach and business tourism routes, and more than 4 million people traveled between them in the first nine months of this year.Both sides said they want to expand direct regional ties and develop joint production, trade, transport infrastructure and tourism. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX