Nikol Pashinyan: Armenia will make every effort to back the positive dynamics of EAEU integration
The Armenia’s government priorities go in tune with the philosophy of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council’s regular session held in Yerevan.
Pashinyan added that Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union is as an important tool to achieve the goals and objectives of its government and as one of the factors to ensure economic growth.
“I am glad to note that trade turnover between Armenia and the Member States has grown considerably. The share of Armenia’s imports from EAEU-member countries was 28.5% up in 2018. Exports to the member States rose by 20% to provide for an overall 11% increase in trade turnover,” the PM said, adding one of the most important integration directions of the Eurasian Economic Union remains the establishment of common markets for gas, oil and oil products and the formation of the common energy market.
“We deem it necessary to activate the efforts aimed at finding a prompt response to the sensitive issue of energy supply on a non-discriminatory basis and their transit through the territories of Member States of the Union, including transit components. It is of paramount importance for us to fully implement the EAEU Digital Agenda, which is one of the strategic directions of cooperation,” added Pashinyan.
The head of the Armenian government next pointed to the importance to the diversification of the Union’s external economic ties. “Armenia is prepared to make every effort in a bid to expand the geography of free trade agreements and search for new partnerships,” noted the PM.
To remind, the agenda of the Yerevan meeting included issues related to the implementation of the EAEU digital agenda, the removal of barriers on the union's domestic market, industrial cooperation, trade, customs cooperation and economy. Participants of the meeting are set to discuss aspects of the implementation of the project “Eurasian network of industrial cooperation, subcontracting and technology transfer”, efforts to remove barriers.
A series of documents were signed concerning the activities of industrial cooperatives, the use of electronic signatures, elimination of barriers in the Union’s domestic market, the introduction of common approaches to the import and export of goods, the development of a digital one-stop-shop trading system in the EAEU.
It was decided that the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will next meet in August, 2019 in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan.