Agreement on cooperation has been signed between the National Forest Certification System of the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (KUIE).
The Agreement confirms the movement of the National Forest Certification System of the Russian Federation towards recognition in foreign markets and forming the international forest certification system of timber processing complex products, sustainable farming including process of harvesting, processing, transportation and turnover of timber products.
Chairman of the Coordination Council of the National Forest Certification System Andrey Peshkov highlighted the important role of this Agreement. Andrey Peshkov noted that there was wide range of possible mutually beneficial directions of cooperation and one of the first steps would be recognition of the certificates of the National Forest Certification System on international system. Chairman of the Coordination Council of the National Forest Certification System also mentioned that the Certification Body based on dry port would be formed in the Kyrgyz Republic for this purpose. This country is geographically located at the crossing of actively developing routes to India, Iran, China and Turkey. The System Certification Center nowadays is in the process of creation and it will issue certificates taking into account the activities carried out on conformity assessment in the National Forest Certification System.
This Agreement marked the beginning of bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation: we can export the certified goods and services, high-quality timber from the Russian Federation, as well as accept the certified goods from other countries.
President of the Kyrgyz Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (KUIE) Danil Ibraev said that partnership in this field should have a beneficial effect on the quality of goods and services for consumers of both countries, as well as contribute to the development of logistics, trade and economic cooperation, increase the protection of the interests of consumers and producers of both countries, promote mutually beneficial cooperation along the North-South transport corridor.
Director General of the Russian Standardization Institute Denis Mironov noted that the Russian Standardization Institute fulfilled a wide range of obligations related to standardization and certification. Denis Mironov also mentioned that projects and plans of the Russian Standardization Institute went far beyond forest certification. He highlighted that this Agreement would be one of the first successful projects on developing international cooperation. Denis Mironov said that the Russian Standardization Institute together with its Colleagues would be developing in other areas, and this had already been reflected in the text of the Agreement.
Background information:
National Forest Certification System of the Russian Federation is a voluntary certification system. The holder of this System is the Russian Standardization Institute of the Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (GOST R). National Forest Certification System of the Russian Federation intends to demonstrate to the customers and interested parties that environmentally acceptable, careful, socially oriented and economically sustainable forestry is conducted during the process of harvesting the timber from which goods and packaging s are produced.
The requirements of the National Forest Certification System of the Russian Federation cover various environmental and social aspects, focus on reducing the vulnerability of precious natural sites and territories, protecting the rights and interests of local population dependent on timber lands for achieving the above-mentioned goal. The requirements have been developed with the participation of experts in the forest industry involving a wide range of enterprises of the forest complex and interested parties.