Friday, July 17 2020 18:02

ArmInfo.Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, who is paying a working visit to Belarus, attended a regular meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Minsk, the press service of RA PM reports.

The meeting was also attended by RF Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin,  Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime  Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin, Prime Minister of  the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Kubatbek Boronov, Eurasian Economic  Commission Board Chairman Mikhail Myasnikovich.

The Heads of Government first attended a joint photo session, after  which the Intergovernmental Council met in narrow and expanded  formats. Addressing the event, Nikol Pashinyan stated:  "To begin  with, I would like to thank Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus  Roman Alexandrovich Golovchenko for hosting today's meeting, as well  as for a warm welcome and hospitality.

Since this is the first meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council with  the participation of Roman Alexandrovich and Kubatbek Ayylchievich, I  wish to take this opportunity to congratulate both colleagues on  their appointment as Prime Ministers of the Republic of Belarus and  the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, respectively, and wish them good luck and  ever new achievements in their responsible activities.

This is our first face-to-face meeting after a long pause caused by  the coronavirus pandemic. In this regard, I would like to note with  satisfaction that our Union actually defied this challenge with  honor. It proved viable in crisis situations, which evidences its  importance for our countries.

The Commission did not interrupt its activities for even a second.  The videoconferences held by the Commission Board, the  Intergovernmental Council and the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council  not only allowed us to exchange information on the state of affairs  in our countries, but also allowed us to continue our discussions and  take decisions fundamental to the future of our integration.

The Eurasian cooperation would not have been so effective if it had  not been underpinned by strong ties of friendship between our  countries and peoples. In this context, I would like to highlight the  ongoing high-level cooperation and mutual assistance that we felt  these days from all our partners without exception.

I would like to express my gratitude to Prime Minister Mikhail  Mishustin and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk for their prompt  response to emerging challenges, in particular, as regards the  efforts to ensure uninterrupted transport communication between  Armenia and the Russian Federation. This was strategically important  for our economy.

In the same context, I cannot but mention Belavia's operations.  During all these months it continued to operate regular flights to  Armenia despite the fact that all other carriers had suspended their  activities in Armenia.

The epidemiological situation remains tense in Armenia despite the  recent days' encouraging statistics. The pandemic has negatively  affected all aspects of our public life. It hit the economy and the  social sector. The mobility of the population has decreased, trade in  goods and services has been hampered. The healthcare system is facing  unprecedented pressures.

All countries without exception are experiencing these difficulties  to one extent or another. It is more than obvious that preserving  peace and putting an end to armed conflict are prerequisites for  waging a successful campaign against the pandemic and the economic  crisis it has caused. In this regard, I cannot help addressing a  topic that is vital for us and for regional stability.  As you may  know, ignoring the numerous calls for an end to armed conflict amid  the ongoing pandemic, including those reflected in the Joint  Statement of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on April 14 and  the UN Secretary-General's statement of March 23, Azerbaijan resorted  to military action on the northeast borders of the Republic of  Armenia.

The armed forces of Armenia could not help but respond to these  provocative actions of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, provocations  continue to this day, fostering tension and unpredictability.

Azerbaijan's aggressive policy in the region leads nowhere. It will  not succeed in breaking our people's resolve and force us to make  unreasonable and unilateral concessions in the settlement of the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. There is no military solution to the  conflict and there is no alternative to peace negotiations, which is  in the interests of all peoples in our region.  Dear friends, Now, I  would like to dwell on the following agenda issues: First, I wish to  state my overall satisfaction with the work done to create a common  gas market for the Eurasian Economic Union, which is reflected in the  report.

We are hopeful that the ongoing constructive efforts will be stepped  up based on mutual understanding and respect for the interests of all  EAEU-member States. Transition to market- based pricing mechanisms  and setting tariffs (prices) for gas transmission services in the  common market are among the topical objectives of this Program. We  are confident that these principles constitute a key prerequisite for  attaining the goals of the unified gas market formation.

I would also like to express our opinion on the agro-industry and  industrialization development maps in the Eurasian economic space. We  consider it appropriate to have large projects in the aforementioned  maps that would imply interstate cooperation, mutual deliveries of  raw materials or finished products, as well as projects aimed at  developing and implementing innovative technological solutions.

As regards the Union's industrialization map, it may become a  mechanism to further stimulate cooperation and promote joint  import-substitution projects, as well as to assess the potential of  member countries' industries. The industrialization map will help us  make a better use of resources in each member state and support those  enterprises cooperating with their partners from other member states.

I would also like to emphasize the importance of joint action in the  field of healthcare, sanitary and epidemiological welfare to prevent  the spread of COVID-19.

In conclusion, I wish to focus on the issue of food security. I would  like to note that food security has always been the center of our  attention. As far as I know, specific preliminary work has already  been done in this direction within the Union. Moreover, we have  agreed to develop the general principles and approaches to food  security in the EAEU Strategy for up to 2025. This problem has become  particularly relevant amid the standing pandemic, and therefore, I  suggest entrusting the Commission with the task of developing and  submitting the EAEU Food Security Doctrine (Concept).  Wrapping up my  remarks, I would like to remind you that Armenia has expressed  readiness and reaffirms its wish to organize the next regular session  of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Yerevan in October this  year. Thank you."

A wide range of issues of Eurasian integration in the areas of trade,  the functioning of the domestic market, competition, industry,  technical regulation and others was discussed during the meeting.  Reference was made to the implementation of the "Agreement on  Labeling of Goods" and the further development of the labeling system  within the Eurasian Economic Union, a comprehensive healthcare action  plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases  in member countries.

The meeting also discussed a draft interstate program for cooperation  among the EAEU countries, a roadmap for agro-industry development and  a map for the industrialization of the EAEU.  The aforementioned two  projects provide for exchange of information on major projects, which  will allow the Union's partners to avoid the duplication of  production, take note of development trends and effectively use each  other's capabilities when forming national development plans and  investment programs.

During the extended meeting, the Heads of Government signed the  minutes of the meeting and the documents on the decisions passed at  the meeting.