Regional Trade Agreements in the ECE

CIS HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING

The Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) meeting in Minsk on 23 May extended an invitation to Marek Belka, UNECE Executive Secretary, to participate in its Head of Government meeting.
The CIS has decided to develop an economic strategy aimed at strengthening trade and economic relations between its 12 states participants and increasing the CIS countries’ economic growth and competitiveness. The strategy will be finalized within the next five months and be presented at the CIS Summit meeting in Autumn 2008.
Because a number of the priorities of the draft Strategy (for example energy, transport, trade, competitiveness and innovation) correspond to priority sectors of UNECE, it was proposed that UNECE could make a meaningful contribution to the elaboration and finalization of the strategy, and subsequently to its implementation. UNECE was the only external body invited to the meeting.

UKRAINIAN CABINET ENDORSES GUAM AGREEMENT

Ukrainian News Agency reported that the cabinet of ministers has endorsed an agreement among governments of member states of the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) on international multimodal cargo shipment by two or more kinds of transport. The agreement was signed in Baku on June 19, 2007.
The endorsement of the agreement by the Cabinet of Ministers is a national procedure required to enact it.
As per report the agreement regulates relations between individuals and legal entities with shipment of cargo in interaction between railroads, river transport, sea transport, motor transport, and ferries. The agreement also gives rights, obligations and responsibilities of each participant in shipment.
The governments of GUAM have committed to facilitate the development and competitive capacities of multimodal shipment. The governments also agreed to transfer customs clearance of goods from border checkpoints to terminals of shipment.

KAZAKHSTAN RATIFIES EURASEC CUSTOMS UNION AGREEMENT

The Kazakh parliament has ratified an agreement on establishing a customs union within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Community (Eurasec), a spokesman for the upper house of parliament said on Tuesday.
The agreement on establishing the customs union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in Dushanbe, Tajikistan in October 2007.
"At a plenary meeting, the members of the Senate adopted the law 'On the ratification of the agreement on establishing a joint customs zone and forming a customs union'," the spokesman said.
The document is to be later signed by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
The three other members of Eurasec - Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan - will also be able to join the customs union.

GUAM COUTRIES EAGER TO EXPAND TRANSPORT ROUTES

The international union of automobile transport has offered the Organization for Democracy and Economic Development – GUAM to use the route running from the West China to Europe and reverse, Valery Chechelashvili, the Secretary General of GUAM, stated in Baku on 30 May during the summit of GUAM.
GUAM is currently realizing cargo deliveries in the area of 4 member-countries of the organization – Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova, whilst we are interested in the establishment of communications routes in the western and eastern directions as well, Chechelashvili said.