MOSCOW, 12 March (BelTA) – The economy of the Eurasian Economic Union fared better economically amid the the COVID-19 pandemic than the EU countries, Chairman of the EEC Board Mikhail Myasnikovich said as he addressed the plenary session of the international economic forum "CIS - 30 Years”, BelTA has learned.
Mikhail Myasnikovich noted that the challenges of 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the large-scale economic recession, require an even greater awareness of the importance of the integration between the Eurasian Economic Union and the CIS. “2020 was a difficult year in all respects: the GDP of the EAEU decreased by 3.9%,” he said. “To compare: the GDP of the European Union fell by 7.2%. Germany shrank by 5.4%, the UK - by 10%. The EAEU's GDP per capita remained almsot at the level of the previous year - $27,700 in terms of purchasing power parity in the previous year.”
Despite the difficulties, the EAEU posted growth in several important sectors of the economy. Manufacturing expanded by 0.4% over 2019 and agriculture added 2.3%. “This is very important, because these industries, especially manufacturing, have high-performance jobs, while agriculture means food security,” Mikhail Myasnikovich noted.
According to him, the dynamics of merchandise trade within the EAEU has been positive compared to foreign trade. "The trade between the EAEU countries fell by 11%. Meanwhile the trade with third countries plummeted, unfortunately, by 20.9%. This shows that the integration ties in the Eurasian Economic Union work helping us to trade with each other successfully in this difficult time," Mikhail Myasnikovich noted.
