ST. PETERSBURG, 26 December (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko is taking part in a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on 26 December, BelTA has learned.
The EAEU summit is taking place in the territory of the all-season resort Igora outside St. Petersburg, Russia. An informal meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) took place in the same venue the day before.
A restricted-attendance session and an expanded-attendance session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will traditionally take place. Once the leaders of the EAEU states have discussed strategic directions of work of the union, they will be joined by the Uzbekistan president as well as by representatives of Iran and Cuba.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin opened the summit. In his words, the parties have gathered to sum up results of the outgoing year, discuss current matters concerning the development of integration, look into a number of decisions meant to further expand cooperation in the EAEU in various spheres, and sketch out plans for the future.
The Russian head of state reminded that the Treaty on Establishing the Eurasian Economic Union has turned 10 years this year. He remarked that the union had evolved as a self-dependent and self-sufficient center of the nascent multipolar world and continues developing dynamically.
“The operation of the Eurasian Economic Union contributes to the expansion of trade and investment exchange, to an increase in business contacts, to deeper manufacturing cooperation ties. And most importantly, integration interaction generates genuine benefits for every participant of our association. It truly helps secure stable and sustainable economic growth in the five countries and in the Eurasian region as a whole,” Vladimir Putin stated.
The president stressed that Russia highly appreciates mutually beneficial versatile cooperation with partners in the EAEU and is interested in stepping up joint work for the sake of enhancing the association in every way.
Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan made a brief speech in the protocol part of the restricted-attendance session on behalf of the presiding country. He joined the session via a videoconference call (he had been previously diagnosed with the coronavirus).
Nikol Pashinyan said: “The period of Armenia’s presidency over EAEU bodies is nearing its end. As you know, the main priorities of our presidency included key avenues of economic interaction, the creation of common markets in energy industry, the removal of barriers on the domestic EAEU market, the development of the transport and logistics infrastructure, and the enhancement of international ties. The priorities also included the development of the manufacturing cooperation potential and digital technologies.”
The Armenian prime minister also thanked members of the Council and top officials of the Eurasian Economic Commission for assistance with the practical implementation of initiatives of Armenia’s presidency.
A total of about 20 items are on the summit’s agenda. During the session Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko is expected to present goals and priorities of Belarus’ presidency over EAEU bodies in 2025.
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