EAEU to sign agreements with Iran, China in Astana
"We plan to sign the Agreement on trade and economic Cooperation with China and the Temporary Agreement on the establishment of a free trade zone with Iran this week in Astana. The negotiations on the conclusion of preferential trade agreements with Israel, Serbia, and Singapore are ongoing. Similar talks with Egypt and India will begin soon," Vladimir Putin told the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Sochi.
Tatiana Valovaya, Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Board Member (Minister) for Integration and Macroeconomics, told Kazakh journalists that in addition to these agreements, EEC is also engaged in a broader framework of international cooperation.
"I would like to say that when Kazakhstan presided over EAEU in 2016, one of the main directions of Kazakhstan's presidency was the development of relations with our key trade and economic partners. This objective is not for one year. We continue implementing it. This refers not only to an agreement on free trade zones but also in broad terms," Valovaya underscored.
According to her, EAEU has signed about 50 memorandums with governments, international and regional organizations. "Within the framework of these memorandums, our contacts, we solve several problems at once. We create a platform for communication between the business entities of our EAEU states and these countries. For instance, in Latin America, the region is quite remote and complicated for business. However, if we create some additional opportunities to communicate, very interesting projects will emerge," Tatiana Valovaya clarified.
"At the same time, we hold business forums. Within the framework of such forums, we talk about the capabilities of EAEU. Our foreign partners do not always have full information about EAEU. For instance, they would be very interested in learning that we have an economic union without internal borders. Developing relations, let's say, with Kazakhstan in investments or in foreign trade, in fact, it would have a way to the entire EAEU," she added.
Photo credit: kremlin.ru