Excerpts from the transcript:
Good afternoon, colleagues,
I am delighted to welcome
the forum’s participants and guests.
The development of Eurasian
economic integration is Russia’s deliberate strategic choice which has stood
the test of time and the serious challenges of the past few years. The
implementation of the Strategic
Guidelines for Expanding Eurasian Economic Integration to 2025 and the action
plan for implementing them will facilitate more profound integration.
Eurasian economic
integration is impossible without involving the business community. In this
connection, I would like to specially underscore the role of the EAEU Business
Council.
Assistance to businesses is
an important aspect of expanding Eurasian integration. This includes a range of
tasks to improve the business and investment climate, form a favourable
competitive environment, actively involve the concerned parties in the
processes of the Union’s operation and charting of the future dimensions of
Eurasian integration.
Today, we will discuss many
of these matters at the Integration Forum organised by the Russian Union of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs.
We are closely following
your work to promote the business community’s interests both inside the country
and at the regional level, that is, at the EAEU Business Council and also at
leading global governance institutions, such as the Business 20 (B20) and
Business at OECD (BIAC), with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs coordinating
the involvement of the Russian business community.
We praise the Russian
business community’s proposals that are reflected in these institutions’ policy
documents regarding trade and investment, green growth and climate,
digitalisation and the human capital. I hope that this work will also continue
next year.
An understanding of the
advantages of comprehensive partnership and integration has always been a
distinguishing feature of Eurasian economic integration. In the seven years of
the EAEU’s active development, we have scored major successes in realising the
four main freedoms, namely, the free movement of goods, services, capital and
labour. They are a fundamental condition for ensuring seamless access to a
market with a population of over 180 million.
Customs and tariff
regulation, the use of protective measures, technical regulation, and protection
of competition on trans-border markets have been elevated to a supra-national
level. Work is underway to eliminate barriers, exceptions and restrictions from
the economic union’s regime. In 2020 alone, we were able to eliminate seven
barriers, four restrictions and 11 exceptions on the domestic market, and this
became the most impressive removal of barriers in the EAEU’s history. The EAEU
Business Council made an important contribution to this work. On 5 October
2021, an action plan to eliminate exceptions and restrictions on the EAEU’s
domestic market in 2021 and 2022 was approved, and it is providing an
additional impetus to this work.
We are establishing a
common services market for some economic sectors, and this market stipulates
mutual access of service providers in the EAEU under the national regime’s
terms. Today, the common services market exists in 53 sectors and encompasses
over 57 percent of all manufactured products.
We are implementing
projects in the field of industrial cooperation that help strengthen the
Union’s production potential and form Eurasian chains for creating value-added
products.
We continue to expand relations with our partners beyond the EAEU
perimeter, including separate states and multilateral institutions of
international cooperation, such as bodies, agencies and organisations of the UN
Family, the OECD, ASEAN, the SCO and BRICS.
At the same time, it is very important not to rest
on our laurels and to facilitate the implementation of adopted strategic long-term
decisions in order to further advance our integration. As President of Russia
Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Collegium, Consistent
promotion of integration is already producing results for the participating
states, driving their economic growth and helping improve
the wellbeing of their citizens. We should use such achievements
to involve new members and partners in the orbit
of this organisation.”consistent promotion of integration is already producing results for the
participating states, driving their economic growth and helping improve the
well-being of their citizens. We should use such achievements to involve new members
and partners in the orbit of this organisation.” And the business community’s
contribution to this work cannot be overestimated.
To conclude, I would like to express confidence that proposals by this
forum’s participants will greatly contribute to expanding the processes of
Eurasian economic integration and elevating Eurasian business cooperation to a
new level. I wish everyone successful work.
