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13 Feb 2025 Andrey Slepnev: "It is necessary to intensify joint work with business in international markets taking into account the increasing competition" This was the call that Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission, addressed to the participants of the International Forum "2025 is the Year of New Opportunities" arranged by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. "If we take the figures for trade in 2024, they are quite telling. Intra-Union trade was up 10%, after a major increase a year earlier. The EAEU's foreign trade with third countries remained virtually unchanged in terms of trade turnover, while exports grew by 1.2% and the trade balance grew by 17.3%," the EEC Minister noted. According to him, such figures show that attempts to isolate, restrict or otherwise destabilize trade in the Eurasian Economic Union countries, although noticeable, do not achieve their goal. Trade is evolving, businesses are moving forward and finding ways to continue to engage with their partners. Touching upon the theme of the forum, Andrey Slepnev emphasized that the new opportunities that are opening up now are also a response to new challenges. In his view, these challenges can be boiled down to two main points. The first one is specific for Russia and Belarus and consists of sanctions pressure. The second is related to the fact that the world trading system has already fully entered the stage of global transformation. "We are now going through periods of trade wars and we need to understand our prospects in this context," the EEC Minister pointed out. "First of all, I would like to say that the interest of international partners to engage in trade with the Union is quite high. Today we are implementing an unprecedented free trade agreement with Iran, actively consulting with India and expect to sign an agreement with the UAE this year," reported Andrey Slepnev. Among others, he highlighted Southeast Asia as one of the key markets. The situation there is changing very rapidly today, in part due to U.S. measures against China. In the region, the EAEU Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam is already in force, and successful negotiations with Indonesia are underway. "Competition will increase more and more, so our export efforts have to be further intensified to withstand this competition and defend our interests in these markets. This concerns both us as regulators and the business community of our countries," the Minister concluded.  
12 Feb 2025 EAEU identified priority areas for cooperation in non-ferrous metallurgy The Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission adopted a Recommendation on new promising areas for developing cooperation in non-ferrous metallurgy, taking into account the existing integration potential of the Eurasian Economic Union. "This is joint production of innovative non-ferrous metallurgy products taking into account the possible application of the financial support mechanism, organization of experience exchange on the introduction of advanced technologies in the industry, on the implementation of the green agenda in this area, as well as in the field of non-ferrous metal scrap processing," noted Gohar Barseghyan, EEC Minister in charge of Industry and Agriculture. To improve interaction between producers and consumers of EAEU non-ferrous metallurgy products, it is recommended to use the lists of promising cooperation areas in this industry posted on the EAEU website. The lists are open-ended and may be updated or expanded upon proposals by the Member States. "Adoption of the Recommendation will contribute to further deepening of cooperation in non-ferrous metallurgy, taking into account the current priorities of the industry's development in the EAEU countries," the EEC Minister emphasized. The lists of promising cooperation areas include, in particular, the production of non-ferrous metallurgy products such as ferromolybdenum, titanium, vanadium-aluminum alloy, copper wire, beryllium bronze and a number of aluminum products (aluminum powders and pastes, light-alloy aluminum wheels, aluminum rims and frames for bicycles).
11 Feb 2025 Arzybek Kozhoshev informed UNECE about efforts to decarbonize EAEU transport Arzybek Kozhoshev, EEC Minister in charge of Energy and Infrastructure, participated in the 87th session of the Inland Transport Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, which is taking place in Geneva. The key topic of the event was transport decarbonization. "Today it is difficult to imagine our life without transport, it is the key factor in the development of many sectors and industries of economies. At the same time, when elaborating strategies for long-term transport development, it is necessary to take into account possible consequences for the environment," Arzybek Kozhoshev mentioned. The EEC Minister informed about the work of the Eurasian Economic Commission on the climate agenda and noted that the economic policy measures taken by the EAEU countries are aimed at maintaining steady economic growth. The Minister also separately noted the work carried out by the Commission on digitalization and introduction of advanced notification and monitoring methods on roads, stressing that the EAEU approved the Concept for improving the interaction of intelligent transport systems. Arzybek Kozhoshev said that in order to promote and find the best technologies, since 2023 the Eurasian Economic Commission has been holding the Green Eurasia International Climate Competition. Since its inception, it has featured more than 300 practices from 12 countries. "Only close cooperation at all levels can not only improve the transportation sector, but also reduce the negative impact on the environment and climate," noted the EEC Minister. 
11 Feb 2025 Ruslan Davydov presented promising areas of EAEU customs regulation in Geneva The 87th session of the Inland Transport Committee of the UN Economic Commission for Europe discussed key aspects related to the acceleration and facilitation of border crossing, as well as the development and harmonization of customs procedures. The Geneva event was attended by Ruslan Davydov, Minister in charge of Customs Cooperation of the Eurasian Economic Commission, who also participated in the Ministerial Conference themed Successes and Challenges for Inland Transport on the Road to 2030. Ruslan Davydov spoke about the experience and promising projects being implemented in the Eurasian Economic Union to facilitate border crossing and develop transit potential. He presented the Agreement on a unified system of customs transit, signed by the leaders of the EAEU Member States on December 26, 2024, noting that countries that are not members of the Eurasian Five can join the Agreement, too.  "The document provisions envisage the use of a unified electronic transit declaration for transportation through the territory of all the member countries, which will significantly reduce the time and financial costs for foreign trader operators," Ruslan Davydov told. The head of the Customs Unit of the Commission paid special attention to the introduction of navigation seals in the EAEU and the development of the institution of surety, which is an efficient tool for financial guarantees in transit transportation. Emphasis was also placed on the work being carried out in the EAEU to create uniform requirements for the construction of border crossing points and best practices for the introduction of digital technologies at them. "The core element of a border crossing point should be its unified information system, which will integrate breakthrough technologies based on the use of the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence," Ruslan Davydov noted. "This will help speed up the passage of goods, transport organizations and natural persons across the EAEU border while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of state control."
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