Excerpts from the transcript:
Mikhail Mishustin: Mr Khachaturyan, Mr Pashinyan, friends.
Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting between President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and heads of delegations participating in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council
Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting between President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and heads of delegations participating in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council
Mikhail Mishustin and President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan
Mikhail Mishustin at a meeting between President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and heads of delegations participating in the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council
First of all, thank you for the traditional Armenian hospitality and outstanding organisation of this meeting. Please accept best regards from President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
Armenia makes a significant contribution to the EAEU development. Prime Minister Pashinyan cited some figures: mutual trade has doubled in the past seven months alone. This figure will grow further before the end of the year.
Thanks to the coordinated action of all five states, our union has reached a qualitatively new level of integration. The major socioeconomic indicators of the member states have demonstrated growth in the past ten years. In particular, GDP per capita has increased by more than one-third, which is above the global average.
The scope of industrial production in the Union has grown 20 percent. For comparison, the European Union shows only 10 percent in the same area of growth. The unemployment rate in the EAEU was below 5 percent in 2021, which is substantially lower than in the world in general and in Europe, in particular.
Colleagues, as President of Russia Vladimir Putin said, the world is entering a period of fundamental transformations. We are to operate in the new conditions of instability in international trade and, of course, unprecedented pressure of Western sanctions, specifically on Russia and Belarus. However, we consider these circumstances to be an inherent element of this stage.
Our five nations promptly respond to the current changes, taking decisions to support their population and securing economic stability.
We can already note the positive effects of our joint steps, proven by key macroeconomic indicators. At the same time, thanks to the Union’s resource base, we can rely on its uninterrupted operation despite the instability and associated risks and challenges we are facing. It is important to continue exercising the joint anti-crisis solutions approved in March. All these actions will help us to make substantial progress and alleviate the adverse effects of the sanctions.
I must note that the current situation also creates new opportunities for Eurasian manufacturers. Mr Golovchenko has just said that we should expand industrial and other types of cooperation. Eurasian producers could take over the newly available niches, as they are doing now, and primarily in hi-tech and knowledge-intensive industries, especially as the Union’s legal framework favours such developments.
Colleagues, obviously, our main goal is to address the issues of concern to the entire Union, including economic and trade development and improving the quality of life.
At the same time, the Eurasian Economic Union is open to cooperation with other international and regional associations, which are growing in numbers. We should work on engaging more like-minded actors. I am convinced that together, we can overcome any challenges.
