DUSHANBE, December 24, 2015, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan is expected to ratify the CIS Free Trade Zone Agreement today.

The issue has been tabled to the agenda of a regular sitting of the second session of Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) of the fifth convocation that is taking place today.

The Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free trade area between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.  All CISFTA participants except Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Moldova are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising a single economic market.

The CIS Free Trade Zone Agreement, proposed since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, was signed on 18 October 2011 by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Moldova and Armenia.  The agreement replaced existing bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements between the countries.  Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have not signed the agreement.  Initially, the treaty was only ratified by Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia and Kazakhstan, however in December 2013 Uzbekistan signed and then ratified the treaty.  Kyrgyzstan has ratified the treaty with effect from January 12, 2014.