NOV. 13 (The Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s trade turnover with member states of the Eurasian Economic Union – that’s Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan – has dropped by nearly 26% to $12.1b in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2014, its statistics agency said.
The data is more evidence of the sharp downturn in the region’s economy.
It is particularly jarring for Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev who has been one of the main architects and biggest supporters of the Eurasian Economic Union.
It was hoped that the trade bloc would stimulate trade but instead, by anchoring outlying economies to Russia, it has hampered it. A sharp drop in oil prices and Western-imposed sanctions have tipped Russia into a recession and forced its rouble currency to drop in value.
ENDS
— copyright belongs to The Conway Bulletin
>>This story was first published in issue 257 of the weekly Conway Bulletin news paper