The regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in Almaty under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. First, the session of the Council took place in a narrow-format, then the work continued with an expanded format. The participants of the session posed for a family photo.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan welcomed the participants of the session and noted with regret that due to the emergency situation at the Bishkek thermal power plant, the Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Akylbek Usunbekov left for Bishkek this morning. "I am sure that the problem will be solved in the near future. If necessary, we are ready to provide any help and support to quickly eliminate all consequences of the accident.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Alikhan Smailov, for the warm welcome and for organizing today's event at a high level.
I hope that this year we will be able to make significant progress in terms of taking practical steps towards the implementation of the key principles underlying the EAEU, taking into account the priorities set by the Armenian presidency: the development of the EAEU's international relations, the elimination of obstacles in the internal market, efforts to digitize and consolidate the IT communities of the member countries, which are aimed at the active development of high-tech sectors of the economy.
In addition, it is necessary to continue work on accelerating the process of the common markets of electricity and energy resources.
Another key element of economic cooperation is the development and modernization of transport infrastructure, the maximum use of the transit potential and the geographical location of the EAEU.
I consider it no less important to ensure stable access to high-quality and safe food for the population.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to mention once again that the development of equal cooperation within the framework of EAEU should ultimately serve to the goal of creating convenient conditions for doing business and the full realization of human potential.
I expect the cooperation and support of EAEU member states in the practical implementation of the initiatives of Armenia's presidency in 2024, which were summarized in my address to the Heads of State of the EAEU member states.
Before passing the floor to the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, let me wish you, Bakytzhan Sagintayev, success in your responsible position.
I am confident that your activities will contribute to the development and implementation of consented decisions aimed at further growth of the EAEU potential, and you can confidently count on our support in this process."
After the discussions, the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in an expanded format was held, during which Prime Minister Pashinyan also made a speech. Nikol Pashinyan, in particular, noted:
"Dear members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council,
Dear participants of the session,
First of all, I would like to once again thank our Kazakh colleagues for the warm welcome and the organization of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council session and the Digital Forum. I am confident that the discussions and conclusions of the "Digital Almaty 2024" forum will serve the large-scale introduction of digital technologies and innovations, will be useful and demanded for forecasts and movements in this direction.
I welcome the Head of the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Mr. Abdulla Nigmatovich Aripov.
I should note with satisfaction that the analysis of the main economic indicators and the baselines of the cooperation between the member states shows that the EAEU countries are confidently moving along the path of stable economic growth.
Thus, in 2023, the trade turnover of the Republic of Armenia with EAEU countries increased by 39% compared to the previous year and amounted to about 7.8 billion USD, where export increased by 40.8%, and import by 37.5%.
At this stage, the strengthening of industrial cooperatives, the creation of new business connections, the establishment of cross-border trade in digital services and data exchange should be considered among the priority tasks of EAEU.
The institutional environment for the development of the unified digital space of the EAEU already exists, but, in our opinion, ensuring the proper functioning of the unified processes of information exchange between member states, as well as the phased transition from the EAEU integrated information system to a more modern and efficient model of interaction on the digital platform will require a separate discussion and detailed development.
We believe that the timely and unobstructed exchange of information will allow us to solve a significant part of the problems arising during the movement of goods and services in the EAEU and at least reduce most of the administrative obstacles, exceptions and limitations in the internal market.
It is obvious and at the same time natural that e-commerce is developing much faster than the legislative regulation of this area. In our opinion, the road map for creating favorable conditions for the development of e-commerce in the EAEU is a balanced program for the development of the industry, which is aimed at solving the problem of the lack of a regulated system of legal norms.
The potential main beneficiary of the legal mechanisms for the regulation of e-commerce is the business of our countries. Along with deciphering the benefits and advantages for business, the citizens of our countries should also feel the practical benefits of the free movement of goods, services and labor implemented in the EAEU.
Dear participants of the meeting,
Dear colleagues,
I would also like to note that parallel to the discussion of issues of cooperation in the field of high technologies, the focus of our attention is on areas of interaction in which it is necessary to form common markets.
Despite the fact that it is planned to start the operation of the common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products in 2025, at the moment it is obvious that there is no clear unified approach among the member states in terms of prospects for building and developing a common energy market. I am confident that the creation of a common energy market will provide a number of key advantages for all EAEU member countries, without exception, contributing to the sustainable development of economies, improving the well-being of the population, and strengthening energy security. Taking this into account, we believe that our dialogue should be aimed at finding compromise agreements.
We also welcome the intensification of work on the development of mutually beneficial joint projects being implemented and planned for implementation within the framework of the current agenda of the EAEU in the field of transport, which, without a doubt, will have a positive impact on the level of interregional economic interaction and will contribute to the expansion of trade and economic ties.
In conclusion, I would like to note that the Armenian side, within the framework of its chairmanship in the EAEU bodies, will continue to make active efforts to promote initiatives aimed at the practical achievement of the four freedoms in the interests of improving the living standards of the citizens of our countries.
Thank you for attention".
During the meeting, issues of cooperation within the EAEU related to e-commerce, customs regulation, aviation, risk management, transport, agriculture, railway infrastructure and the organization of multimodal transport were discussed.
The Heads of Government signed the documents and protocols agreed upon during the meeting. The next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will be held in Belarus in May of this year.
