The creation of a “green corridor” for the accelerated passage of Kazakh agricultural products by road through checkpoints is being discussed by Kazakhstan and China. This issue was raised at negotiations held in Astana under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Zhumangarin and Chairman of the People's Government of the XUAR of the People's Republic of China Erkin Tuniyaz. Within the framework of the “green corridor” project, uniform means of identification (green seal) will be used. This was reported by the press service of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
As Vice Minister of Agriculture Erbol Taszhurekov noted, the Kazakh side supports the use of these mechanisms. Instructions have already been received from the PRC on unifying the rules for using green corridor mechanisms and green seals to facilitate border control.
Today, this mechanism is being coordinated with interested government bodies of Kazakhstan.
The parties also agreed to test water-saving technologies in Kazakhstan. According to the First Vice Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Bolat Bekniyaz, in Kazakhstan’s agriculture, only 16% of irrigated lands are covered by water-saving technologies; the goal is to bring this figure to 50%.
“Kazakhstan has all the program documents to support and stimulate the implementation of water conservation in agriculture and industry, and is ready to work with business structures. Projects have already been started in Almaty, Turkestan and Karaganda regions,” said Bolat Bekniyaz.
The Chinese side presented the technologies of Tianye, a provider of comprehensive services in the field of water conservation. Serik Zhumangarin proposed to establish cooperation with the National Agrarian Research and Education Center, which has vast lands. The parties would be able to conduct joint scientific tests of water-saving technologies in the southern regions of Kazakhstan.
The Deputy Prime Minister also supported the company’s proposal to consider the possibility of opening not only production facilities, but also training centers for the use of sprinkler equipment and drip irrigation.
According to the Ministry of Trade, in 2023, the trade turnover of agricultural products between Kazakhstan and China increased 1.7 times and exceeded $1.3 billion (exports - $1.01 billion (+184%), imports - $290.2 million (+125%) There is a high demand from China for organic and environmentally friendly Kazakh agricultural products.