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According to Genadi Arveladze, the Deputy Economy Minister of Georgia, the free trade agreement between Georgia and Turkey will be amended by the two states to make it easier for businesses to sell their services to the two markets. This decision was made following his meeting with Mustafa Tuzcu, the Deputy Minister of Trade of Turkey.
The dialogue between the two officials took place on the sidelines of the World Trade Organisation’s 12th Ministerial Conference. As it was announced by Georgia’s Economy Ministry on Tuesday, they agreed on talks to add trade in services to the deal “in the near future”.
According to Arveladze, Turkey is Georgia’s “largest trading partner”. He also added that the amendment to the agreement would increase bilateral trade turnover and would be “equally beneficial” for both countries.
The “difficult geopolitical situation” in the Black Sea region on the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, and opportunities for further intensification of bilateral trade and economic relations were also discussed by Georgian and Turkish officials.
They also noted during the meeting that Turkey is ranking first among Georgia’s largest trading partners (15 percent share, along with a 28 percent growth in bilateral trade turnover and a 23 percent increase of Georgia’s exports in the first quarter of 2022).
According to the ministry, Georgia officially joined the initiative to regulate trade in services by countries with advanced economies in the framework of the Ministerial, and they set Arveladze to hold bilateral meetings with the heads of trade delegations of various countries.
The functioning of the multilateral trading system was reviewed at the Conference that took place in Geneva, Switzerland, between June 12-15 and gathered ministers from across the world.

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The meeting between deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov and the British Deputy Secretary of State for International Trade (Minister for Exports) Mike Freer has taken place.
The Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade (MIFT) says that representatives of the London Stock Exchange and the financial corporations “Standard Chartered” and “TheCityUk” were also included in the British delegation.
They discussed the current state and prospects for deepening the Uzbek-British partnership in the field of investment, trade and industry during the meeting.
The positive trends in the development of mutual trade were noted with satisfaction: in 2021, the volume of trade between the two countries rose up by 65%, while exports from Uzbekistan to the UK grew up by 2.5 times. Uzbekistan’s obtaining the status of a beneficiary of the Great Britain’s Enhanced Generalized System of Preferences scheme (“GSP Enhanced Framework”) facilitated this. 2022 continues to show the positive dynamics in bilateral trade: in January and April, trade showed growth by 68% compared to the same indicator last year. Uzbek exports to the United Kingdom rose up by 2.6 times.
They reached an agreement on the development of joint measures to attract British investors to the creation of joint export-oriented industries in Uzbekistan. The preferences of the GSP Enhanced Framework system are also beneficial for the organization of trainings and workshops and for Uzbek manufacturers and exporters.
The delegations also discussed the prospects for intensifying investment cooperation. They emphasized on the 40% increase of the number of British enterprises operating in Uzbekistan over the past few years. Representatives discussed the prospects for cooperation in the framework of attracting new British companies to implement projects in the field of processing agricultural products, animal husbandry, biopharmaceuticals, the textile industry, information and communication technologies and green energy.
The agreement to intensify work on the preparation of the 26th Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC), which will be held in October this year in Tashkent, was achieved by the parties. Ties between the business circles of the two countries will be strengthened by the event, as well as new “growth points” for economic partnership will be identified and British investment and technology will be attracted to promising sectors of the economy of Uzbekistan.
The results of the meeting permitted to determine the format of further interaction within the framework of each of the considered areas of cooperation.

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Transit cargo transportation through the territory of Turkmenistan has been allowed to carry out since June 1.
The Transport Ministry of Uzbekistan announces that drivers of vehicles of foreign states move around the country through the checkpoints “Serakhs (Iran) – Serakhs (Turkmenistan)”, “Farab (Turkmenistan) – Olot (Uzbekistan)” and “Sarakhs (Turkmenistan) – Sarakhs (Iran)”.
The following requirements and conditions must be respected during transit cargo transportation across the country:
– all the documents necessary for registration of the process of transit traffic must be provided by drivers of vehicles of foreign states when crossing the state border of Turkmenistan to undergo special sanitary procedures;
– sanitary treatment in accordance with the established procedure is obligatory for motor vehicles;
– a negative PCR test (passed at least 72 hours before crossing the state border), a certificate of vaccination against COVID-19 (at least 42 days from the date of the last vaccination) must be provided when crossing the border,;
– you must take an express test for COVID-19 at border checkpoints;
– the organizational set of cars (trucks) cargo will carry out the transportation through the territory of Turkmenistan;
– they will form convoys of trucks at a distance of 1 kilometer from the Uzbek-Iranian border;
– the motorcade starts to be created at 08:00 in the morning;
– special vehicles of the traffic police control a convoy of trucks. Drivers mustn’t park and leave the cab while driving;
– a column of freight vehicles can stop only at specially designated parking lots for drivers to rest, maintain vehicles, refuel and purchase necessary food products;
– vehicles that have malfunctions or other problems during the movement, are separated from the convoy. In this situation, practical assistance in solving the problem is provided by the employees of the internal affairs bodies, in cooperation with the Turkmen Road Transport Agency.

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OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Zbigniew Rau was received by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
He emphasized on the importance of this visit for strengthening of cooperation between Kazakhstan, Poland and the OSCE.
The preparations for the upcoming national referendum were spoken about by the President and the deployment of an ODIHR Referendum Assessment Mission was welcomed.
According to the Head of State, a process of important political transformations in the country began with the referendum. He also promised to carry out the work to promote democracy in Kazakhstan continuously.
Cooperation in all three areas of the OSCE (military-political, economic-environmental and human dimensions) was reviewed in detail by Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Zbigniew Rau.
The President noted that Poland was regarded as an important partner in Central Europe.
According to the leader of Kazakhstan, Bilateral trade has been rose up by 12% last year, attaining $ 760 million.
The efforts made under Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s leadership in implementing large-scale political and economic reforms were commended by The OSCE Chairman-in-Office.
The Polish diplomat thinks that the upcoming referendum is a real breakthrough in terms of Kazakhstan’s Constitutional amendments and approach to social structure and promotion of market oriented reforms. He added that the constitutional reforms in the country are aimed at strengthening the principles of democracy, freedom and the rule of law.
The meetings of Zbigniew Rau with representatives of religious communities and civil society of the country were announced. The Kazakh model of interethnic and interfaith harmony was highly valued by him, and he expressed gratitude to President Tokayev for the constant support of the Polish diaspora living in our country.

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According to the report of Georgian-based non-governmental organization Society and Banks, revenues from transport services in Georgia would increase by about $150 million in April compared to 2021 and exceed $960 million in the ongoing year.
As Georgian Railway Director General Davit Peradze announced on Business Morning TV program on Monday, about 21 more million tons of cargo will be carried annually by Georgian Railway after the completion of the modernization of the network in the country.
According to Peradze, 27 million tons of freight is carried by the company per year, and an annual load reaches 12-13 million tons (the figure would attain 48 million after the modernization).
The local business online media outlet bm.ge cited Peradze: “The growth trend of the Georgian Railway has not stopped for the last four years, with a “record rate” of 10 percent increase observed in freight in 2021”.
The challenges the company is facing, including the lack of locomotives, an upgrade of the existing fleet, and further improvements to railway tracks, were also spoken about.
A profit of ₾23.5 million had been generated by the Georgian Railway in the first quarter of this year, according to the Director General.
The reports of the company announce a profit of ₾52,711 ($18,399/€17,179) in 2021 following four years of operating losses, with the consolidated revenue of the company reaching ₾547,868 ($191,237/€178,458) last year, compared to ₾489,370 ($170,818/€159,369) in 2020, in addition to about ₾164,000 ($57,245/€53,381) of losses.

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3.5 times more new residents appeared in the technology park compared to the same period in 2021.
IT Park counted 1,588 companies in April. According to the technopark press service, 65 new residents have appeared since the beginning of the year.
80 companies became residents in January-March – three times more compared to the same period of last year. 23 out of these companies were established at the beginning of the year, 14 firms lost their status. The technopark rejected 43 companies.
The majority of the companies of the IT Park residents (479) work in the capital, but IT companies in the regions become more numerous– 109 (growth up by 18.5%).
Services worth 814 billion soums, were provided by IT Park residents during the reported period (increased by 186%, or almost three times). Software development, data processing, business process automation and training were the main spheres.
The export of services engages 121 technopark resident companies.
$17.3 million were earned by exporters in the first quarter (increase by 3.5 times compared to 2021). By the end of the year, this amount should attain $100 million.
The USA holds the most significant part in the geographical structure of exports, which increased to 85.2%. The UK, the UAE, South Korea and the CIS countries share the rest.
The task to increase digital exports to $1 billion was set by the head of the Ministry of Information Technologies and Communications Sherzod Shermatov at the end of 2021. Simplified visa issuance for IT specialists and technology investors was one of the measures he recommended.
The TashRush program was created to implement the minister’s instruction practically and to attract foreign IT workers. Anther measure was the introduction of special visas and simplified employment for them.
The move of IT companies, working with foreign clients, from Russia and Belarus to the country began. About 1,000 workers from Russia and Belarus were moved here by EPAM.

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Turkey takes the third place as Kazakhstan’s foreign trade partner (6.5% of trade turnover). According to the State Revenue Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Finance, 4.2% of Kazakhstan’s total imports, and 7.2% of its exports are accounted for this country. In the first quarter of this year Kazakhstan’s exports to Turkey reached $1,254.9mln and imports $236.3mln. Total foreign trade increased by $1bln. $885mln (70.7% of the total exports) were accounted for fuel and energy commodities, which were in great demand from Turkey in reported period. The second place was taken by metals and metallic items ($324mln or 25.9% of the total exports). Products of animal and vegetable origin, textile items, machine technology, chemical products were also exported by Turkey this year. Machine technology, instruments, and devices worth $62mln (26.2% of the total amount) were imported by Kazakhstan from Turkey. The second most imported commodities from Turkey in January – March are textile and textile items ($47.5mln or 20% of the total imports). Kazakhstan – Tukey trade turnover reached $803.1mln in the same period of last year (545.2mln exports and $257.8mln imports).

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A study tour to Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia aiming at finding opportunities to increase trade along the Trans-Caspian route is being held on May 16-24, 2022 by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The great potential of this international transport corridor for trade and business development as an alternative means for transporting goods from Central Asia to Europe is obvious. According to the official website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Kazakhstan, a great focus has been placed by Central Asian governments on increasing the transport of cargo via the Caspian Sea, as traders have growing difficulties in moving their goods through the current transit routes.
USAID’s Trade Central Asia activity is implementing this study tour in collaboration with the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) and KazLogistics, the Union of Transport workers of Kazakhstan.
According to Robert Parker, USAID/Central Asia’s Regional Trade Officer, Trans-Caspian Corridor route can play an important role as a means to trade goods from Central Asia with Caucasus and European countries. The cooperation of these countries and decisions that will lead to an increase of regional trade and investments are welcome.
The Caspian Sea ports at Alyat and Kuryk, and the Batumi Port on the Black Sea are being visited by a delegation of over 40 customs representatives and staff of transport policy government agencies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as by members of the Central Asia Transport and Logistics Partnership. Each port’s pricing policy is being studied, processes utilized are being reviewed, and digitization initiatives are being studied. It helps to develop recommendations for further simplifying procedures.
Representatives of national associations of road carriers, logistics companies and freight forwarders, seaports and shipping companies from Azerbaijan, Georgia and Central Asian nations, directly involved in international road transport will also join the tour. The organizers invited participants from Bulgaria and Turkey to familiarize them with the possibility of facilitating international road transport through their domestic territories.
At the same time, the shipping of pre-selected cargo along the proposed alternative route, from Central Asia through the port of Kuryk in Kazakhstan via Azerbaijan, Georgia to Turkey has been piloted by USAID, to identify the specific issues carriers may face when transiting these ports.
Improvement of region-wide trade connectivity and harmonization, economic growth’s acceleration and economic opportunity’s increase in Central Asia, through harmonizing customs and border procedures, increasing public-private dialogue on cross-border trade and investment, improving cross-border firm-to-firm connectivity, and addressing gender relevant trade issues is the goal of USAID’s Trade Central Asia activity.

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According to the Center for Economic Reforms Analysis and Communication of Azerbaijan, national exports hit $11.8 billion in January-April 2022 (the non-oil sector amounted to $965.5 million).
Compared to the corresponding period of 2021, non-oil exports grew up by $268.6 million, or 38.5 percent. Fruits and vegetables export rose up by 23.6 percent and reached $162.6 million.
Exports of chemical products showed growth by 9.9 times, aluminum and aluminum products by 90.6 percent, cotton yarn by 19.8 percent, cotton fiber by 6.8 percent, and ferrous metals and their products by 53.3 percent.
Totally, exports in April 2022 reached $3.8 billion dollars. Non-oil exports grew up by 22 percent to $238.3 million. During the reported period, food exports rose up by 6.2 percent and equaled to $51.4 million and non-food exports grew up by 27.2 percent ($186.9 million).
Totally, Azerbaijan’s exports reached $22.2 billion last year, including $2.7 billion in the non-oil sector.
According to Azerbaijan’s Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov, the growth in the non-oil products export demonstrates the Azerbaijani economy’s sustainability, in spite of pandemic.
Sustainable diversification of the economy should be set, and a concept contributing to the growth of non-oil exports is to be planned. By 2025 the amount of non-oil goods exports should be doubled.

The first freight train from China via Azerbaijan is launched by Finland.
The launch of the first container route from China bypassing Russia was announced on May 10 by Finnish largest freight operator Nurminen Logistics.
The company reported that Nurminen Logistics’ first full-size container train departed on May 10, 2022, from Chongqing, China, on the new southern trans-Caspian route.
Starting from China, the route passes through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Romania to Central Europe. It was built in two months together with Kazakh railroads. The company’s office in Russia was temporarily closed in March.
According to the company, the new route is in great demand, and the next train, departing on May 25, is already nearly full. Since June departures are scheduled every week.
On March, 16 a commercial use agreement between Nurminen Logistics and Kazakh State Railways was signed in order to develop the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
Today logistics is a geopolitical issue but not only an economic one. The Trans-Caspian route, combining rail and maritime transport, perfectly suits the needs of modern transportation chains.
More countries seek ways to bypass Russia, which makes transport routes through the South Caucasus increasingly popular. From this perspective, Azerbaijan is irreplaceable as a regional transportation hub, because different transportation routes, such as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, North-South corridor, Trans-Caspian international transport route, and the new Silk Road, pass through the country.
A railway route to Germany, allowing trains to bypass Russia, was also launched on April, 13 by China. The route passes through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, crossing the Caspian and Black Seas by rail and sea.
The launch of a block train from China to Europe in transit through Azerbaijan was reported by the representative office of German company Hellmann Worldwide Logistics in Azerbaijan and its partners. It will leave from the Chinese city of Suzhou to the border of Kazakhstan by rail, and then will be loaded and shipped from Aktau port to the port of Baku. Cargo will be delivered by the block train not only for transit to Europe but also for the domestic market of Azerbaijan.
Consequently, it is difficult to overestimate the significance of the North-South corridor for Russia now, especially in context of the sanctions.
Azerbaijan is becoming a new leading logistics center in the reorganization of global supply chains in Eurasia, due to its strategic central position between Europe and China and developed aviation, rail, pipeline, and maritime infrastructure.
The Trans-Caspian transport route is a vital trans-Eurasian corridor, running through the South Caucasus. The route, beginning in Southeast Asia and China, travels to Europe via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey. It is the Middle Corridor of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ project, one of the new Silk Road routes. Profitability, safety, reliability, and stability of this transport corridor were proved during the crisis. Consequently, the attention of an increasing number of exporters and importers is attracted by this corridor, running through Azerbaijan.
In light of the present situation, the potential of Azerbaijan to become one of the transport and logistics hubs transferring freight traffic is obvious.

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The company’s plans to service the passengers “from door to door” and the conditions the company has to satisfy before going public were spoken about by Ulf Wokurka, an Independent Director and Member of the Board of Directors of national railway operator Kazakhstan, and Temir Zholy (KTZ) in an exclusive interview with The Astana Times.
The Samruk Kazyna Sovereign Wealth Fund is the sole shareholder of KTZ (est.1997), a national transport and logistics holding, the largest operator of Kazakhstan’s railway network and one of 15 largest railway companies in the world (223 billion tonne-kilometers in 2021).
Over 110,000 citizens are provided with jobs by KTZ.
According to Ulf Wokurka, KTZ has recently adopted a five-year passenger transportation development concept, developed jointly by KTZ and a German consultancy company with the aim to improve the passenger transportation experience.
The passenger train services’ timetables are going to be adjusted according to adjacent transportation service providers (e.g. airlines and bus services) over the next five years.
Both the relevant airline and KTZ are interested in the resulting increased customer satisfaction as it will increase passenger numbers.
A new mobile application of KTZ for passengers will make the new services for traveling “from door to door” ready for booking.
Cooperation with leading taxi service providers, with Air Astana, and with large inter-city bus transportation providers will also be necessary.
The negotiations of a respective agreement with Air Astana, Kazakhstan’s flagship air carrier have already been started.
The construction of several transport hubs around major cities and regional centers is planned and rail tracks and rail stations are going to be modernized, as well as new tracks are going to be constructed.
A second track will be added to the road between the Chinese border and the north of Balkhash Lake.
Alternative sources of financing are necessary for KTZ to reduce its dependence on foreign borrowing. For example, the National Fund (a sovereign wealth fund that is operated by the National Bank of Kazakhstan) can be an important source for these long-term investments into the future.
One of those factors that have so far prevented the company from seeking a public listing has been the significant debt burden of KTZ.
Several companies are comprised in JSC NC KTZ. It is necessary to decide which of them should go public. Profitable segments, such as the provider of freight transportation services, are currently cross-subsidizing less profitable or even loss-making companies within the KTZ group.
The impact of such plans on the company’s future debt service capacity is another implication to be duly considered within any decision making on a possible partial privatization or going-public.
Prior to aiming for an IPO, it is necessary to define the future terms and conditions under which KTZ and other railroad companies will compete for their share in the market for freight transportation services on both domestic and cross-border transportation routes.
The stability of freight transportation passing through Russia has been questioned as a result of the ongoing military operations in Ukraine, consequently, the volume of goods across the territory of Russia has fallen.
Steps to minimize the impact of the military conflict on its operations have been taken by both sides. For instance, external borrowings have been optimized and funding sources have been diversified to mitigate the currency risks. Measures are taken by KTZ to reduce its operational costs, as well as to resume negotiations with suppliers and other business partners in order to prevent unexpected price hikes for purchased equipment, spare parts and services.
One of these measures is developing alternative transportation routes (e.g. Trans-Caspian international transportation route (TITR) which runs through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and on to Europe and unites around 20 transportation companies, owners of the infrastructure, and carriers from Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine). KTZ has been its regular member since 2017 and can provide an alternative to the Russian route for the transit of goods from China to Europe or export from Kazakhstan.

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