EEU looks to China for trade, economic cooperation

The member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) agreed on Friday at a summit in the Kazakh resort town of Burabai to establish ties with China on trade and economic cooperation.

“Negotiations with China and the EEU will begin the first quarter of next year,” the Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Viktor Khristenko, told reporters.

“The decision was taken by the governments of the member countries of the EEU to coordinate actions and reach common ground on the Silk Road economic belt project,” he said.

EEU cooperation agreements also include India, Iran and Egypt, among other countries, the spokesman said, adding that the EEU “will start negotiations with the State of Israel aimed at a free trade agreement.”

On the domestic front, the presidents of the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union urged “further liberalization of the services market,” he said, citing “the removal of barriers for 21 service sectors,” including advertising, audits and construction.

The EEU leaders also agreed on cooperation guidelines for foreign partners and a specific plan of action.

Cooperation between the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union was also on the agenda.

“The Member States of the EEU will facilitate common agreements through the permanent representative of Belarus to the European Union,” the spokesman added.

The document outlining EEU and EU cooperation is to be delivered by the permanent representative of Belarus to the head of the European Commission, JeanClaude Juncker.

The Eurasian Economic Union summit Friday was the second since it was established on Jan. 1.

At the previous meeting, the bloc set its socioeconomic targets for 2030.

The meeting was attended by the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin; Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan; Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko; Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, and the host Nursultan Nazarbávey, president of Kazakhstan.