CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee Regional Meeting on Development of Simplified Transit Systems

Co-sponsored with the Department of Customs Services under the Ministry of Finance of the Kyrgyz Republic, this meeting was part of ADB’s ongoing support for the implementation of the seven-point Common Action Plan endorsed in August 2002 by the Customs Cooperation Committee (CCC).

The development of simplified transit systems was one of seven key areas in the Common Action Plan. A regional seminar was organized in August 2003 in Issyk-Kul to review issues and constraints and suggest measures in line with international practices.

During the Second Ministerial Conference of Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation in November 2003, the Ministers recognized the need to develop simplified transit systems and instructed CCC to consider drafting a regional transit agreement in the near future. Participants discussed major issues related to regional transit systems and explored the possibility of extending a draft transit agreement between Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic into a regional one.

CCC is consisted of heads of customs administrations from East and Central Asian countries joining a larger regional cooperation program supported by ADB.