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Kyrgyzstan unable to join Customs Union on January 1, 2012: acting premier

17 October 2011 19:57 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Kyrgyzstan cannot join the Customs Union on January 1, 2012, Kyrgyz Acting Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov told reporters Monday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"We have applied for joining the Customs Union, however, we will first have to resolve some very important problems, including the setting of a transitional period for some of our economic sectors," said Babanov, also First Vice Premier of the country.

Kyrgyzstan formed a working group for the accession to the Customs Union, but "no such group was formed by the Customs Union members, which was necessary," said the leader of Republic Party.

Before joining the Customs Union, Kyrgyzstan will have to employ tens of thousands of citizens who make their living in the delivery and selling of commodities from China and other states, among them Customs Union members - Russia and Kazakhstan.

Kyrgyzstan applied in the middle of this year for membership in the Customs Union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, which came into existence on January 1, 2010. The three member states are expected to introduce the single economic space from January 1, 2012.