The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) remains attractive for international cooperation despite attempts by Western countries to put pressure on the Union’s partners and hinder cooperation, while further development of Eurasian integration requires creating new logistics routes and supporting business projects. This was the conclusion reached by the participants of the plenary session of the Eurasian Economic Forum.
KEY CONCLUSIONS
The EAEU remains a sought-after international partner despite Western pressure
“The Forum we are attending today will now be convened regularly. <…> The wide scope of participants present here today – officials, business leaders, experts, representatives of public organisations from the EAEU and from other countries – shows that the role of our association is increasing, growing, and this speaks of the rapidly changing world that Mr Shokhin mentioned, the successful development of Eurasian integration and the growing interest that our organisation creates abroad. I think the theme of the forum – Eurasian Integration in a Multipolar World – is highly relevant. It spans the most important issues the Eurasian Union is addressing today when it comes to creating favourable conditions for the EAEU economies and the development of cooperation throughout Eurasia. We can see truly deep and fundamental changes taking place on the global stage. More and more states are taking a course towards strengthening national sovereignty, pursuing an independent domestic and foreign policy, and adhering to their own development model. All of them are in favour of building a new, more equitable architecture of international economic relations, striving to constructively influence world processes, expand the network of partnerships based on mutual benefit, respect and consideration of each other's interests. <…> It is important that the majority of participants in international communication agree with these approaches – I would like to emphasise this. And these are not empty words; they really do agree with this approach. We actively cooperate with major international associations, such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, as well as multilateral organisations in Latin America and Africa. <…> We are genuinely interested in honest, productive and pragmatic interaction. <…> Everyone – and I want to emphasise this, directly answering our moderator's question – everyone who acts, thinks and does otherwise is damaging the global economy, in fact, shooting themselves in the foot, and the foot of those who are still forced to obey their dictates. <…> But this is their choice; we are ready to cooperate with anyone who wants to work with us on the principles I mentioned, at any second, at any time. <…> The Eurasian Union is also working hard to expand friendly ties with other countries in the near abroad, Asia, India, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, which represent the absolute majority of the world's population and drive global growth. Today, these global economic growth drivers represent key investment attraction points and new transport route hubs,” Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.
“Russia must be very active. Its prestige is great despite all the anti-Russia yelling in the Western media. Russia has taken a risk in challenging the unipolar world. Russia is in the vanguard of this process and we are nearby. <…> we must act in this regard. In doing this, we must not be guided by momentary considerations or the situation that is taking place in the world today. We must act in the most peaceful and constructive manner,” Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus.
“China is the Eurasian Economic Union’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching USD 243.6 billion last year, with an increase of 31 per cent. There is good growth dynamics and huge potential for cooperation. [PRC, – Ed.] is ready to join efforts and strengthen interaction of new cooperation prospects on the Eurasian continent,” Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China.
PROBLEMS
Attempts by the West to influence relations within the EAEU member states
“It is no secret that our Western opponents are trying to compel many of our partners to curtail beneficial cooperation with Russia through persuasion and with various promises and blackmail. In the process, they do not care one bit about the losses to be sustained by these states and their peoples. I would like to note in this context that Russia has always taken a responsible and genuine approach to interaction with all countries. We fulfil in full – I would like to emphasise this – in full and on time – the agreements signed in the Eurasian Economic Union. We fully carry out all of our agreements,” Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.
“The so-called green agenda is actively used by our counterparts in the West as a tool of pressure to contain our countries’ economic development. The economic and environmental standards in effect today – Euro-5, Euro-6, and all the subsequent ones – have nothing to do with environmental protection,” Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus.
“We have a Union State within the Eurasian Economic Union <…> with a single political, legal, military, economic, monetary, cultural and humanitarian space. It is a single union government, a single union parliament. <…> On the other hand, there is a different level of integration, represented by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, and we need to reckon with this reality. How will we work in these conditions? This is a conceptual issue,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“Unfortunately, despite the Union’s enormous scientific resource potential and the high level of education of our citizens, it cannot yet be said that our countries remain leaders in global technological and technological progress,” Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.
SOLUTIONS
The need to create a new Eurasian transport framework
“[Laying the Resht–Astara railway, – Ed.] will make it possible to link Russian ports in the Baltic with Iranian ports on the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Construction of the new line will get underway this year. <…> We are closely cooperating with Azerbaijan in the context of this corridor. We hope for early drafting and signing of the relevant trilateral documents with Azerbaijan’s participation, notably, the agreement on cooperation to develop railway infrastructure and freight shipments on the North-South Corridor,” Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.
“The events of the past year clearly demonstrated the importance of developing the North – South transport corridor as a key element of new global logistics. This longitudinal corridor is coordinated with the latitudinal Trans-Caspian International Transport Route. Therefore, we see significant synergy in the coordinated and system-wide development of both routes. It is not just a point of growth for industrial production, transport and the economy. These routes can fundamentally change the level of cooperation across the vast territory of Eurasia. <...> On the whole, it is no exaggeration to say that we are now forging a new Eurasian transport framework that has never existed before,” Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
“The most important direction of sustainable economic development is the formation of a global transport and logistics system. I believe that we need to have a unified transport system in the Union under unified management, formed with sovereign participation of member states. This approach will make it possible not only to remove obstacles in the internal EAEU market, but also, together with the SCO countries, to form a transcontinental logistics megaproject, which will be the practical content of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiatives and the East–West and North–South transport corridors,” Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
New financial system and business support will accelerate EAEU development
“It is important to coordinate our efforts to create a new and decentralised global financial system. Of course, the stability of global finance will largely depend on how this decentralisation goes. The more decentralised the system, the better it will be for the global economy, since it will be less dependent on crises in the countries that still enjoy an advantage in the form of world reserve currencies,” Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation.
“Protection of business interests and their support by the state is a priority task in all EAEU countries. In this regard, I believe it is necessary to study the feasibility of establishing a business ombudsman institution in the Union. <...> The creation of a Eurasian rating agency, along with the removal of restrictions faced by business entities, would increase the level of financial independence of Eurasian countries and intensify investment activity,” Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic.
“Industrial cooperation will help us manufacture products under Eurasian brands with maximum localisation and coordinate new import substitution projects. Over 25 percent of annual industrial imports to the EAEU worth approximately USD 70 billion can be replaced with locally produced goods,” Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Belarus.
Quotes: Kremlin.ru.
For more information, visit the Roscongress Information and Analytical System roscongress.org.