VERONA, 21 October (BelTA) – Belarus supports the idea of integration of integrations, which envisages the creation of common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok in the future. Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevgeny Shestakov made the statement on the sidelines of the fifth Eurasian Forum in Verona, Italy on 21 October, BelTA has learned.
Representatives of the private sector, the general public, scientific and political circles from Belarus, Russia, Italy, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Korea and other countries convened in Verona, Italy on 20-21 October. Participants of the forum are expected to discuss matters of interregional cooperation, the development of innovative infrastructure, new models of economic cooperation in the context of the global crisis, and possible avenues of interaction between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European private sector.
Yevgeny Shestakov pointed out that member states of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Eurasian Economic Commission work hard on the international positioning of the union. Memorandums of understanding have been signed with Chile, Peru, Cambodia, and Singapore. The agreement on free trade with Vietnam came into force on 5 October 2016. On the whole, over 40 countries have shown their interest in cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union this way or another, said the official.
According to the source, the dialogue between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union advances. “In 2015 within the framework of Belarus' presidency the European Commission received a memo on contours of cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. The document sketched out avenues for possible cooperation between the two integration platforms. We've received an answer from Brussels, which confirmed their interest in expanding trade and economic cooperation on the global scale. Work in this area continues,” said the Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign business circles demonstrate considerable interest in the Eurasian Economic Union. Results of the relevant events, in which representatives of the business community participated, testify to that. In particular, this year conferences have been held to highlight foreign economic ties with the Eurasian Economic Union member states in addition to the Business Day of the Eurasian Economic Union in Czechia and the conference Along the Silk Roads in Venice, said Yevgeny Shestakov.
Speaking about Verona as a platform for discussing integration affairs, the Belarusian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs reminded that the first Eurasian Forum was held in 2012. This kind of events stemmed from Russian-Italian bilateral forums, which content was expanded with affairs of the Union State of Belarus and Russia as well as items on the Eurasian integration agenda.
“I hope that the tradition of arranging such meetings will continue. Moreover, the Belarusian side is also interested in further development of the dialogue in the multilateral and bilateral formats,” said the official.
