Lukashenko: To be an effective structure, the EAEU needs to deliver results

MINSK, 27 June (BelTA) – To be an effective structure, the Eurasian Economic Union needs to prioritize rapid progress towards tangible, common results, rather than being a forum for theoretical discussions, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a narrow-format session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on 27 June, BelTA has learned. 

“The Republic of Belarus presides over the EAEU bodies in a year that will have a huge impact on the organization’s future,” the president emphasized. He remarked that the summit agenda features a number of issues that require decisions at the highest level. “Firstly, we are completing the implementation of the Eurasian economic integration strategy until 2025. Secondly, this year we need to adopt a joint roadmap for the next period – this is needed to implement the declaration on economic development of our union.” The corresponding action plan will be approved by the EEC Council, after that it will be submitted to the Supreme Council and considered at a meeting in December.

“If we want our union to be a functioning and effective organization, and not a platform for theoretical discussions (although this is not bad either), it should develop rapidly in the next five years; a clear algorithm is needed in each direction in order to achieve a specific common result,” the president emphasized.

The head of state noted that it has become a good tradition to discuss international cooperation matters during such summits. The agenda of the current meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council includes a review of the union's international activities in 2024.

“I believe that we are on the right track, especially in the current international situation, when seemingly unshakable rules and agreements that have been in place for decades are collapsing,” the Belarusian leader said. In his opinion, it is necessary to keep working to pair the potential of the EAEU with the capabilities of major international associations and initiatives that pursue the same statutory values as the EAEU. The president called the creation of free trade zones with third countries a crucial tool for promoting common interests of the EAEU countries in the international arena. Work in this direction is underway, and participants of the Minsk summit are to sign a temporary trade agreement with Mongolia and an economic partnership agreement with the UAE. “The increasing number countries that have concluded such agreements with us proves that the union has chosen the right international vector,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

The participants of the summit will also discuss the functioning of the EAEU internal market taking into account the impact of individual factors and the market development prospects.

“I am confident that our communication within the framework of the official agenda and beyond will help us find answers to all our questions, and, in a circle of like-minded people, to find the keys to solving the most complex integration problems,” the president emphasized.