TASKENT: Azbekistan will join Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) free trade zone by the end of this year, according to the head of CIS steering committee Sergei Lebedev.

“The decision has been made that Uzbekistan will become the ninth participant in the free trade zone by the end of the year,” Lebedev said, summing up the first stage of the congress.

The CIS free trade zone agreement was signed on October 18, 2011 by eight nations including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Ukraine. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan said they wished to discuss some issues further before joining.

Moldova ratified the agreement on Thursday. Five other nations (Armenia, Belarus, Russia and Ukraine) have already ratified the deal. (Monitoring Desk)