Tuesday, October 1 2019 16:45

ArmInfo. To expand the international agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union, special  attention should be paid to countries of Asia, Africa and Latin  America, where our goods and services are still not well recognized.  On October 1, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced  this at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in  Yerevan.

"We suggest that the Eurasian Development Bank join in this area. Our  national development banks and other financial institutions should  also look for tools for closer interaction both within the union and  on the external side," Lukashenko said.

At the same time, he touched on the barriers within the organization  and expressed his conviction that a political solution is needed to  eliminate barriers in the EAEU. "Today we have empowered the  commission with the issues of labeling goods and the traceability of  their movement. The EEC must ensure that these progressive offers do  not turn into new obstacles to trade. There are plenty of barriers in  the union. It is especially alarming when they are introduced in such  sensitive areas as, for example, state purchases. The time has come  for the heads of state to consider a hot topic and make a political  decision, "the Belarusian leader emphasized, suggesting increase of  powers of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Court of the EAEC  .

Touching upon the EAEU's interaction with third countries, Lukashenko  praised the development of cooperation, including the development of  an interim agreement on the creation of a free trade zone with Iran,  which will enter into force in October, and a package of agreements  with Singapore. "Your countries are very important partners for us,  and the potential for building economic ties is huge. Having  consolidated the preference regime, it is important to push business  and governments to more systematic interaction," Alexander Lukashenko  addressed the Iranian President and Singapore Prime Minister at the  meeting.

The President also noted with satisfaction the readiness to conclude  a free trade agreement with Serbia and recalled that the Agreement on  Trade and Economic Cooperation with China would enter into force in  October. In June, the EAEU and the PRC agreed to exchange preliminary  information on goods and means of international transportation  transported through their customs offices in order to expedite the  passage of goods across their borders.

"The commission should work out a similar agreement with the European  Union to make the land route from China to Europe through our  countries the most attractive," the Belarusian head of state said.

Alexander Lukashenko also noted that the EAEU's interaction with the  Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation  Organization and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have  seriously intensified. According to the head of state, integration  associations have common interests in the fields of transport,  industrial cooperation, digitalization.