The first meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council this year was held today in Almaty. It was attended by the Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan B. Sagintayev, Russia - D. Medvedev, Belarus - S. Rumas, Kyrgyzstan - M. Abylgaziyev, Vice Prime Minister of Armenia M. Grigoryan and Board chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission T. Sarkisyan, according to the press service of the PM. This year is 5th year since the signing of the Union Treaty and 25 years of the idea of Eurasian integration.
The meeting was traditionally held in narrow and extended formats. A total of 16 issues on the agenda were discussed on trade-economic cooperation and expansion of mutual trade between the member states of the Union, as well as the development of integration potential in certain sectors of the economy.
In a narrow composition, views were exchanged on topical issues of economic interaction, specifically, the instruments for the further expansion of trade between the member states of the Union, including through the unification of legislation in trade, energy, agriculture, transport and logistics, tax and customs policy. In addition, prospects for improving the system of mutual recognition of a number of documents in education were considered, also mechanisms for implementing projects within the framework of the EAEU digital agenda.
In an expanded composition, the Intergovernmental Council summed up the development of trade between the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union in 2018, reviewed the macroeconomic situation in the countries of the Union and heard proposals from the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission to further ensure sustainable economic development.
In his speech Bakytzhan Sagintayev noted that in 2018, by common efforts, a portfolio of assets was accumulated, which must be further developed. The implementation of the EAEU Digital Agenda was actively studied. The Office of Digital Initiatives management received dozens of promising proposals. On an ongoing basis, barriers are removed. At the previous meeting of the High Council (December 6, 2018), the Heads of State approved the Programs for the Formation of common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products, and also adopted a declaration on the further development of integration processes within the EAEU. As part of the common market formation, a unified regulation on the safety of alcoholic beverages has been developed. The work on draft Agreement on the principles of tax policy in the field of excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco is being completed.
At the same time, the need to form a new Roadmap for removing obstacles for the next 2 years was indicated. Further negotiation is required on the formation of a free trade zone with Singapore and Serbia, as well as trade negotiations with Israel and Egypt. The creation of favorable conditions for access to these markets will significantly develop the export potential of the EAEU countries.
Kazakhstan also noted the priority of social issues, in particular, in the framework of the development of the Agreement on pension provision for citizens of the EAEU countries. These issues were raised by the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev during the last meeting of the High Council.
The meeting adopted a number of documents on the standards for the distribution of import duties, on the access of Kazakh coal exporters to the services of seaports of the Russian Federation, as well as the mechanisms for implementing projects under the digital agenda of the Eurasian Economic Union and the draft Agreement was approved on the alcohol produce regulation. Orders were adopted on the condition of mutual trade, the macroeconomic situation in the EAEU member states and proposals for ensuring sustainable economic development, as well as on holding regular consultations between the member countries of the Union.
One of the key agenda items was the signing of the Shipping Agreement, designed to simplify the transportation procedures for the ships of the Union member states and create a single legal framework for regulating the relations arising in the ships’ sailing in inland waterways of the EAEU countries. To Kazakhstan, the signing of the Agreement is of strategic importance to enable the domestic fleet passage on the internal waterways of Russia to the Black and Baltic Sea as soon as possible.
The next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will be held in late April-early May of this year in Yerevan (Armenia).
Reported by the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda.
