Washington, D.C. – Today, senior U.S. Government officials and officials from the Governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan met for the 9th United States-Central Asia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council Meeting. The United States-Central Asia TIFA is the key vehicle for trade and investment discussions between the United States and the countries of Central Asia.
Discussion at the plenary session focused on overall trade and investment relations between the countries of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the United States. The TIFA talks focused on a number of areas, including World Trade Organization (WTO) membership, customs, investment, standards and sanitary measures, and procurement.
On June 10, TIFA working groups on customs coordination, standards and sanitary measures, and women’s economic empowerment met to discuss these issues and to plan future work. Bilateral working groups, each comprised of the United States and one of the current Central Asian Parties to the TIFA, also discussed bilateral trade and investment issues, including how to increase bilateral trade and investment flows during the 2014-2015 time period.
The next meeting of the U.S. – Central Asia TIFA Council will take place in the region of Central Asia at a date to be determined.
