Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk took part in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council as a member of the Russian delegation. The meeting was held in Moscow.
The heads of government reviewed issues related to further deepening Eurasian economic integration, including the functioning of the Union’s internal market, cooperation in the energy, industrial and agricultural sectors, and progress in preparing to implement the Declaration on the Further Development of Economic Processes within the Framework of the Eurasian Economic Union until 2030 and for the Period up to 2045 – the Eurasian Economic Path.
Speaking to journalists, Alexei Overchuk said that at this final meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in 2025, the parties summed up the results of Belarus’s chairmanship of the EAEU bodies.
“It was noted that the Eurasian Economic Union continues to develop, and the share of mutual trade between member states is growing. Importantly, we have effectively completed the transition to national currencies; over 93 percent of settlements between our countries are now made in national currencies, mainly the Russian rouble,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
Highlighting a key outcome of Belarus’s chairmanship, Mr Overchuk pointed to the signing of several free-trade agreements.
“The EAEU and the five member states signed a free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates in June in Minsk, as well as a temporary free trade agreement with Mongolia. We are now completing the procedures required for these agreements to enter into force, including domestic ratification. We are also beginning joint work on their practical implementation. In addition, the agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran entered into force on May15, and we are already seeing a notable increase in trade between the EAEU and Iran,” the Deputy Prime Minister said, adding that negotiations with Indonesia have been completed and the parties expect to sign the agreement shortly.
Industrial cooperation was another key topic on the agenda. “Two years ago, we decided to stimulate industrial cooperation between our states and launched a mechanism to support joint cooperation projects and the creation of new value-added chains. Under this mechanism, we subsidise interest rates on loans issued for implementing investment projects involving three or more EAEU member states. The first such projects appeared this year and are already being implemented. This mechanism is becoming increasingly popular among producers in our countries, helping businesses engage more actively with one another and supporting the growth of mutual trade,” the Deputy Prime Minister noted.
Alexei Overchuk also emphasised an important decision to extend this support mechanism to projects in the agro-industrial sector, noting that the member states view its prospects positively.
The Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the meeting also focused on the plan for implementing the tasks set by the heads of state under the Declaration on the Further Development of Economic Processes within the Framework of the Eurasian Economic Union until 2030 and for the Period up to 2045 – Eurasian Economic Path.
“The heads of state devoted considerable attention to coordinating specific elements of the declaration’s implementation plan, particularly regarding our shared vision for the development of a common customs space and increasing transparency across our markets. In particular, we discussed information exchange, connecting to product-labelling systems, and expanding labelling requirements to new categories of goods,” Alexei Overchuk said.
