MINSK, 20 May (BelTA) – The EAEU has proved resilient amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the high-level discussion on harnessing inter-regional integration for the SDGs organized by Belarus, Barbados and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), BelTA has learned.
“The EAEU has proved resilient in spite of the coronavirus pandemic. It has shown that integration makes it much easier to maintain economic stability under extreme circumstances, including under non-economic circumstances. This is proved by the latest statistics from international organizations. This year the growth of the real gross domestic product in all EAEU countries is expected to be higher than last year,” Sergey Lavrov said.
He also commented on one of the SDGs, which is to strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development. “We are talking about existing financial institutions in the Eurasian space that are designed to iron out differences in the levels of economic development between the member states and their regions, to create a foundation for further sustainable growth. These include, in particular, the Eurasian Development Bank and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development. At the same time, we believe that in order to make the most of the regionalization process, it is important for integration associations to team up with other economic blocs that also strive to improve the well-being of the population and achieve sustainable development,” Sergey Lavrov said.
In this regard, Russia welcomes progress in cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the Andean Community, ASEAN, Mercosur, the Pacific Alliance, the African Union and other integration associations.
“The institutionalization of the EAEU contacts with Eurasian countries and associations is one of the ways to promote the initiative to set up a large-scale Eurasian partnership. This initiative was put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015. It provides for a broad Eurasian integration project bringing together national and regional development strategies in order to build a common community of cooperation and trust based on the principles of equality, mutual respect and consideration for nation-specific needs and interests,” the minister said.
“The EAEU has six major international trade agreements: with Vietnam, Iran, Singapore, Serbia, and two with China. Similar agreements with Egypt and Israel are under discussion. Work is underway to embark on negotiations with India. The possibility of launching new negotiation tracks with promising trading partners is being discussed. The Eurasian Economic Commission has established cooperation with a number of other Eurasian countries, integration associations, in particular with the CIS Executive Committee and the ASEAN Secretariat. There are also mostly technical contacts between the Eurasian Economic Commission and the European Commission. The EAEU is ready to make these technical contacts more systematic and meaningful,” the minister said.
