Lukashenko arrived in Kremlin to participate in EAEU summit
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has arrived in the Kremlin to attend a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. Besides Belarus, the EAEU includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia. This summit is an anniversary one, and it is timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty. The document was adopted on May 29th, 2014 in Astana.
Armenia is chairing the EAEU this year, but it was decided to hold the anniversary summit in Moscow. Nevertheless, the meeting will be chaired by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The heads of state will communicate in a narrow and expanded format. It is planned that the presidents of Uzbekistan and Cuba, who are observer states at the EAEU, will also join the EAEU leaders’ meeting in an expanded format.
In his speech at the meeting, Aleksandr Lukashenko will outline Belarus' position on the main issues on the agenda and speak about the prospects for further development of Eurasian integration.
According to the press service of the Eurasian Economic Commission, the summit participants will discuss the implementation of the decisions of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council dated December 11th, 2020 On Strategic Directions for Developing the Eurasian Economic Integration Until 2025, as well as the implementation of the main directions of international activity of the EAEU. The agenda of the meeting includes issues on the beginning of negotiations with Mongolia on the conclusion of a temporary trade agreement between the EAEU and its member states on the one hand and Mongolia on the other hand, on amendments to the rules of procedure of the Eurasian Economic Commission, on the provision of information in accordance with the protocol on common principles and rules for regulating the activities of natural monopolies. In addition, it is planned to discuss the signing of a protocol on electronic information exchange between the EAEU and its member states on the one hand and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the other within the framework of an electronic system of certification and verification of the origin of goods. The parties also intend to establish a medal: 10th Anniversary of Eurasian Economic Union.
At the end of last year, the final summit of the EAEU presidents in St. Petersburg ended with the signing of a declaration on the development of the Eurasian Economic Path until 2045, as well as an agreement on the creation of a full-format free trade zone with Iran. The participants also summarised the preliminary economic results of the year, noting GDP growth in the EAEU states from 3 to 9 percent.
As reported by the Belarusian leader’s press service, Aleksandr Lukashenko, along with other invited heads of state, will attend a military parade on Red Square in the morning of May 9th to mark the 79th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, and will also take part in a flower-laying ceremony at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier.
