The issue was discussed at a meeting at Uzbekistan’s Customs Committee between First Deputy Chairman Gayrat Nasirov and Asker Kiikov, a Minister-Counselor and representative of the Kazakh Embassy.
The Kazakh delegation said construction and installation work at Zhibek Zholy had been completed and the checkpoint was being prepared to reopen. Uzbek officials, in turn, confirmed that Gisht Kuprik was ready to resume operations and showed video footage of the facility and its surrounding infrastructure.
The two sides also reviewed ways to increase the checkpoints’ capacity, speed up border-crossing procedures and make travel easier for passengers and road transport.
They agreed to continue consultations with the relevant authorities in both countries to determine a date for the checkpoints to reopen simultaneously.
The meeting also covered customs cooperation and bilateral trade. Both sides welcomed the growth in trade and cargo traffic between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and reaffirmed their commitment to simplifying border procedures, speeding up the processing of passengers, vehicles and goods, and improving the efficiency of border checkpoints.
