The authorities of Kazakhstan appealed to the Polish side with a demand to remove restrictions for Kazakh cargo carriers on the border with Belarus. This was reported by the press service of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs (NCE) of Kazakhstan "Atameken".
"From February 21 this year at 19:00 Warsaw time, the movement of trucks at the border crossing Poland - Belarus "Kukuryki - Kozlovichi" is prohibited. This ban does not affect vehicles registered in Poland and member countries of the European Union, the European Free Trade Association, member countries of the agreement on the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation.
At the same time, the NPP noted that vehicles registered in other countries and regions cannot cross this crossing.
Because of this, the Kazakh side incurs losses. According to Murat Amrin, Managing Director - Director of the Department of Logistics and Transportation of NCE Atameken, the Kukuryki-Kozlovichi crossing was the last opportunity that Kazakh cargo carriers could use after the closing of the Bobrovniki-Berestovitsa crossing.
“Kazakh carriers that transport export goods of Kazakhstan to European countries, as well as European goods sent to Kazakhstani enterprises, also fell under the new restrictions. And these are millions of losses. As of February 23, 2023, there are more than 150 Kazakhstani vehicles in Poland , more than 100 are heading towards the European Union. Logistics is disrupted, the cost of transportation is rising," said Armin.
The relevant Kazakh departments are cooperating with the Polish authorities, he said. "On the part of the Embassy of Kazakhstan, notes have already been sent to the state authorities of Poland on the need to remove restrictions for domestic carriers," the Ata-Mekke NCE press service explained.
The chamber recalled that the only land route connecting the European Union and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union is the route through the border crossings of Lithuania and Latvia with Belarus and Russia. "There is also an alternative route through the Caspian Sea, but this route increases the distance to European countries by 1.5 times and the cost of transportation by 2-3 times due to the forced use of several modes of transport," the report says.
At the moment, the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan, together with the NCE and the business community, are negotiating with Lithuania so that Kazakh cars can freely leave the EU in the direction of Belarus and Russia. "A list of accumulated cars is also being formed in order to transfer data to the Lithuanian side," the press service added.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
February 24, 2023