By Vestnik Kavkaza
On October 20-21 the second session of the Club of Young Eurasian Political Scientists is taking place in Bishkek in the Academy of State Management under the President of Kyrgyzstan. It was organized by the political center “Sever-Yug” with support from the Intergovernmental Foundation for Humanitarian Cooperation between the CIS countries.
Political scientists, historians, journalists, sociologists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are taking part in the Bishkek session of the Club.
The session was opened by a speech of Yulia Yakusheva, the Executive Director of Sever-Yug. She defined the aims and tasks of the project. The main topic of the current session of the Club is prospects of cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and the EAEU. According to results of a joint work of participants of the project, it is planned to develop a joint intellectual product.
Saltanat Tursunova, the assistant principal of the Academy of State Service, thinks that activity of young experts will influence the intellectual support of Eurasian integration significantly. Tursunova noted that the President of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, has stated many times that the republic is ready to join the EAEU; but there are many problems, and exchange of views, contacts, and experience is very important from this point of view. Tursunova hopes that if so many young experts from various countries are united, prospects of cooperation will be implemented in the integration process.
Asy Migranyan, a scientist of the Institute for Economics of the RAS, explained the advantages of a Eurasian choice for Kyrgyzstan in her report “Kyrgyzstan - the Customs Union: through thick and thin to integration.” According to forecasts, investment attractiveness will grow due to extension of the outlet market; positive consequences are expected from a growth of direct foreign investments and production of exporting companies. Trade barriers will reduce – tariff and non-tariff barriers. It means reduction of losses in trade and a growth of competitiveness.
“Accession of the country to the CU enables Kyrgyzstan to preserve duty-free importation of strategic products – oil products, gas, grain, chemical products, black and base metals, and so on,” Aza Migranyayn thinks. According to her, the best effect of Eurasian integration could be achieved in case of a change of the economic model of the country – from intermediate trade to an industrial and agricultural one.
Meanwhile, according to the expert, direct accession of the country into the EAEU would be the most effective, without joining the CU. In the EAEU Kyrgyzstan would have more weight in decision-making than in the CU. Moreover, the most effective solution of the migration problem could be reached in the EAEU.
