26 June 2025, 16:05

Expert: EAEU economies will keep growing in 2025, but growth pace will slow down

MINSK, 26 June (BelTA) – The economies of the EAEU member states will remain on the growth track in 2025, although the pace of growth will slow down, Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission Alexey Vedev told journalists at the Eurasian Economic Forum in Minsk, BelTA has learned.

“This year, we are quite optimistic about economic development prospects of the EAEU member countries, yet for a number of reasons, we expect deceleration of economic growth. In 2024, economic growth stood at 4.4%, well above the global average,” said Alexey Vedev. “The main reason for the slowdown is inflation. In most countries, it has increased tremendously, which made loans much more expensive. First of all, this has to do with Russia. The Russian economy is experiencing a slowdown, with the Ministry of Economic Development forecasting a growth of 2.5% for this year, down from 4.3% last year. This means that even with fairly robust growth in the other countries - in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, the growth rate in the union will stand at about 2.9%. This, unfortunately, is below the global average, but it is still growth. We expect positive investing activities. By and large, the general sentiment about the future state of the economy is good, and we expect positive economic outcomes,” Alexey Vedev continued.

A separate emphasis in the Eurasian Economic Union is placed on personnel training. “Personnel training is one of the key issues in the Eurasian economy now. In my opinion, it is due to the shortage of personnel. In Russia, unemployment is at a historical minimum – 2.3%, while rates below 6% can indicate structural unemployment. Therefore, personnel training is, of course, a very important issue. A shift is occurring in economic growth models, with a transition from a demand-driven approach to one that emphasizes innovation and investment. Therefore, I think we are looking at redistribution. Five rectors of institutes and universities were present at today's session. And, of course, personnel training is a key matter of concern,” Alexey Vedev emphasized.