News – The Russian Government

List of heads of delegations taking part in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council expanded
meeting:

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Chair of the Eurasian
Intergovernmental Council Nikol Pashinyan

Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko

Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov

Prime Minister – Head of the Presidential Administration of the Kyrgyz
Republic Akylbek Japarov

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin

Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba Manuel Marrero Cruz

Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov

First Vice-President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Mohammad Reza Aref

Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board Bakytzhan
Sagintayev.

Mikhail Mishustin’s
remarks:

Mr Pashinyan, colleagues.

It is a great privilege for me to offer my greetings to all the participants and guests of this Eurasian
Intergovernmental Council meeting. Once again, I would like to thank our
Armenian friends in the person of Mr Pashinyan for the wonderful arrangements
for all these meetings and their warm hospitality.

In his remarks in May during the anniversary summit, held in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin said: “Today, the Eurasian
Union is an effective and dynamic integration structure.” Our union has been developing and improving its key
macroeconomic performance indicators amid a slowing global economy and the persisting illegitimate external pressure we face.

In the first six months of this
year, the union’s gross domestic product increased by 4.5 percent, which is
largely attributable to the existing growth drivers within the union, high
investment levels and consumer demand.

As a result, in January-June,
industrial output increased by 4.8 percent, while agricultural output rose by 3.5 percent, construction was up by 4 percent, while retail trade surged by 8.5
percent.

The union’s internal market has
come to play an increasingly important role for its member states. In the first
six months of 2024, trade among its five member states increased by 5.7
percent, with national currencies accounting for about 90 percent in these
transactions.

Our leaders have outlined their
expectations and goals for the future and went on to set forth these provisions
in the Declaration on the Further Development of Economic Processes, titled The Eurasian Economic Path.

Colleagues, you and I have
already embarked on an effort to draft a plan of action to make sure that this
plan is fulfilled in all its aspects.

Let me now turn to what we view as priorities in terms of our
cooperation.

First, I agree with what Mr Golovchenko and other colleagues have said,
including regarding strengthening our technological and industrial sovereignty.

As part of last year’s Russian Chairmanship, we decided to launch a supra-national
mechanism for facilitating cooperation initiatives in manufacturing. We
selected projects for the critical sectors and expect the first initiative of this kind to receive preferential funding soon.

We must also
think about establishing mechanisms within the union for supporting joint
research and development efforts by innovators from EAEU member states through
grants.

It is also essential to continue
comprehensive industrial cooperation within the Eurasian Economic Union as a whole. A key objective is to create a unified transport space and develop
international logistics corridors. As President of Russia Vladimir Putin noted,
the establishment of the necessary infrastructure aligns with the current economic
situation.

Our roadmap, designed to implement the five countries’ transport policy, is aimed at achieving this goal.

Meanwhile, we must place special emphasis
on the digitalisation of the industry and the introduction of advanced
technologies. Today at the forum, we had an in-depth discussion on how to significantly increase the capacity of existing routes and the volume of cargo
flows, while establishing seamless transportation that benefits entrepreneurs and businesses of our countries.

Strengthening food security is also a priority. The people living in the EAEU should have access to high-quality,
healthy, and diverse nutrition.

A high level of self-sufficiency in basic products is one of the union’s advantages, but we must continue our
efforts in food security, particularly in seed production, genetics, and other crucial
areas.

Looking ahead, our work must take into
account the specialisation and production capabilities of all members of the Eurasian Economic Union.

We have a strong foundation, exemplified by the coordination of our indicative
balances of mutual trade in key food products. Russia is in favour of consistently expanding the list of goods for which these balances are compiled,
and for formalising this mechanism in the overarching union law.

This will reassure our enterprises that
their proposals will be supported by corresponding demand in the regional
market, ensuring that production will not be cut off from key resources
supplied by their closest partners.

Colleagues,

The number of areas for our practical
cooperation is growing. At the same time, the Eurasian Economic Union remains
open to those who share our values and are ready for mutually beneficial and equitable partnership. Our fruitful cooperation with China continues, and we
are implementing agreements on free trade with Iran, Vietnam, and Serbia.

This year, talks were held with Mongolia
to sign a temporary trade agreement. Work is underway on agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia.

An active dialogue with regional
associations, above all the SCO and ASEAN, has been established. Naturally, we
should also enhance cooperation with other organisations. I believe this will contribute
to promoting the role of the Eurasian Economic Union on the global stage and advance President Vladimir Putin’s initiative to form a Greater Eurasian
Partnership.

Friends, together we are working to fully unlock the potential of each union member, create opportunities for economic growth, ensure fundamental freedoms such as the movement of goods,
services, finance and human capital, and, most importantly, to improve the well-being of our citizens.

I am confident we will
succeed.