Astana, 8 April 2026 – The implementation of the Kazakhstan Central Asia Program (KCAP) has officially been launched in Astana. KCAP is the first regional technical assistance and cooperation program in the history of the World Trade Organization initiated by a Central Asian country.

The launch of the program marks a qualitatively new stage in Kazakhstan’s engagement with the multilateral trading system. The country is transitioning from the role of a recipient of international technical assistance to that of a donor, exporter of expertise, and a regional hub of WTO competence.

The first activity under KCAP is the WTO regional seminar entitled “Transparency and Notification Mechanisms in the WTO Framework,” taking place in Astana from 8 to 10 April 2026. The seminar is jointly organized by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the support of the WTO Secretariat and the Asian Development Bank.

The opening ceremony was chaired by H.E. Mr. Kairat Torebayev, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the WTO and International Economic Organizations and Chair of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body.

The seminar brings together representatives of government authorities from Central Asian countries and the wider region, as well as leading international experts, including Dr. Kenza Le Mentec, Head of the Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus of the WTO Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation; Mr. Ali Usman Hildji, WTO expert; and Dr. Rolando Avendano and Dr. Roman Mogilevskii, experts from the Asian Development Bank.

Discussions during the seminar focus on WTO notification requirements and procedures, the organization’s digital tools, trade in services and agriculture, technical regulation, and intellectual property issues.

The implementation of KCAP consolidates Astana’s status as a regional hub for international trade and a center of WTO expertise. Through this program, Kazakhstan assumes the role of a facilitator for Central Asian countries’ integration into the global trading system, providing support in the development of effective trade policies and in strengthening the institutional capacity of public authorities across the region.

Kazakhstan reaffirms its commitment to the principles of an open, inclusive, and rules-based multilateral trading system, actively contributing to its strengthening and adaptation to contemporary global economic realities.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-wto/press/news/details/1196834?lang=kk