On 12 October, Bishkek hosted the 12th Meeting of the Heads of Customs Administrations of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).
The delegation of the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan was headed by Committee Chairman Zhandos Duisembiyev.
The meeting, chaired by Ulan Kimsanov, Head of the State Customs Service of the Kyrgyz Republic, was attended by the heads of the customs services of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan, OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev, and World Customs Organization Secretary General Ian Saunders. Representatives of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and the International Road Transport Union (IRU) also took part.
One of the key outcomes of the meeting was a set of concrete agreements on digital data exchange, the simplification of customs procedures and the development of transit routes.
By 1 March 2027, the customs services plan to complete implementation of the Technical Specifications for Information Exchange under the Agreement on the Establishment of a Simplified Customs Corridor.
This will make it possible to move to a pilot electronic data exchange between the customs services of OTS countries. Its official launch is planned for the next meeting in Türkiye.
For businesses and international carriers, such an exchange will enable faster customs procedures and shorter cargo delivery times between the countries.
Particular attention was given to customs risk management and stronger cooperation between customs laboratories. By 1 December 2026, the countries will submit proposals on priority areas for the exchange of experience, after which the OTS Secretariat will compile a consolidated list.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan presented their experience of bilateral cooperation between customs laboratories and invited the other OTS states to join this cooperation.
A phased schedule was also agreed for the preparation of the Action Plan ("Roadmap") on OTS customs cooperation for 2027–2031 and a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of Authorized Economic Operator programmes.
The participants also discussed other areas of digitalization and transport facilitation, including the introduction of the eTIR procedure, further development of the single-window principle, and use of the Trans-Caspian Customs Transit Portal.
Implementation of these decisions is aimed at further accelerating border crossings, improving the efficiency of customs procedures and developing the transit potential of OTS countries, including within the Middle Corridor.
Following the meeting, a Protocol was signed setting out the agreements reached and the deadlines for their implementation.
The 13th Meeting of the Heads of Customs Administrations of the OTS Member States will be held in the Republic of Türkiye in 2027.
