Lukashenko attending EAEU summit
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko has arrived at the Ice Palace at the Igora all-season resort in the Leningrad Region to participate in a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council
The EAEU heads of state will discuss topical issues of the association and assess the prospects for deepening integration. A number of important documents are supposed to be signed as a result of the session – i.e. the decision to grant Iran the status of an observer state within the EAEU. Moreover, from January 1st, 2025, the EAEU presidency will pass from Armenia to Belarus, so Aleksandr Lukashenko will present the country's relevant priorities for next year.
Over ten years of the EAEU existence, it has achieved significant results. For example, the total GDP of the participating countries has increased from $1.6 to 2.4 trillion, and the volume of mutual trade has almost doubled: it now stands at $87.5bn, up from $45bn. The trade turnover with third countries has increased almost 1.5-fold: from $580bn to almost $800bn. At the same time, the EAEU external debt has decreased by 15 points, and the portfolio of mutual direct investments has reached almost $18bn.
Other countries are also showing interest in the integration association. Four states are members of the EAEU free trade zone: Vietnam, Singapore, Serbia, and Iran. Another six countries (Egypt, the UAE, Israel, India, Mongolia, and Indonesia) are under negotiation.
The range of topics that the leaders will discuss at the summit is wide. It is expected that the agenda will focus on the prospects for further deepening integration processes, the progress of work to remove barriers and restrictions in the EAEU internal market, the issues related to the normalisation of legislation in the financial sector, and increasing the level of legalisation of the single market of services. In addition, the main directions of the EAEU international activities for 2025 and the organisation's budget will be approved.
