MINSK, 19 September (BelTA) - The role of the EAEU in the face of sanctions has increased many times over. Effective cooperation between customs services is especially important as we are re-building cargo flows, Chairman of the Belarusian State Customs Committee Vladimir Orlovsky told reporters on the sidelines of the 15th international conference "10 Years of the Eurasian Economic Union: Transformation of Customs Administration", BelTA has learned.
"This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Union. Our countries have made a leap forward, increased trade and improved customs administration," Vladimir Orlovsky said. “The role of the Eurasian Economic Union is now at its highest. Taking into account the sanctions imposed by unfriendly countries, the priority goes to intra-union interaction, which is a great help for us."
International relations within the framework of the SCO, BRICS, CIS have been picking up steam. The State Customs Committee takes part in various events. "We keep in touch with almost all countries. Some unfriendly countries are trying to put a brake on our contacts, but they are not very successful. This year alone, we have signed five international treaties on customs cooperation with geographically distant countries. These are China, Egypt, and a number of other countries. Our exports have been restructured towards these countries, and, accordingly, the agreements prescribe a ‘green road’ for our goods. We will continue this work," Vladimir Orlovsky said.
He called the international conference held in Minsk for the 15th in a row a significant platform for interaction between Belarusian business and customs services, the Eurasian Economic Commission and other state authorities. The head of the State Customs Committee stressed that customs administration in the EAEU is mainly carried out at the supranational level. Only reference norms fall within the purview of the national legislation. Such meetings are a good opportunity to get first-hand answers on foreign economic topics that are of interest to enterprises and organizations.
"Cargo flows have changed a lot. Now Belarusian business, both exports and imports, go east through the countries of our union - Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. The speed of movement of goods depends on how smoothly the services work with each other," Vladimir Orlovsky said, adding that such a platform for discussing customs administration issues is more relevant than ever.
The international conference was organized by the State Customs Committee together with OOO Yurspektr. It brought together representatives of government bodies and foreign customs services, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the EAEU Court, the business community and higher education institutions of Belarus. It focuses on improvement of the customs regulation in the EAEU, the transformation of the transport and logistics system in the context of modern realities, the effectiveness of the use of digital technologies in customs matters, etc.
