The development of partnerships between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the BRICS will help increase the stability of the national economies and withstand external pressure. Such conclusion was drawn by the participants of the session “EAEU–SCO–BRICS: Open Integration Dialogue” held as part of the 2nd Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow on May 24.
As emphasized by Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission's Board, a number of the world's major economies are oriented towards separate development.
“In our opinion, separate development will not produce the effect that we would like to have. Our Eurasian macroregion, on the contrary, strives to unite efforts on the basis of a synergistic approach and complementarity,” Head of the EEC Board stated.
He noted that in 2022 alone, the foreign trade of the EAEU States with the SCO and the BRICS rose by more than 40% with a 1.6-fold increase in the Union export. The share of SCO countries, as well as the BRICS in the Union's total turnover exceeded 30%.
“The Union's main trading partner today is China that accounts for more than 23%,” Mikhail Myasnikovich said.
Chairman of the EEC Board drew attention to the need of forming a single transport and logistics framework for the Eurasian macroregion: “The Eurasian Economic Commission has identified seven corridors in order to ensure the seamless movement of goods across the territory of our States. But they need to be extended to Association of Southeast Asian Nations and SCO countries and, of course, ensure access to Europe.”
Nuran Niyazaliev, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, also noted that unilateral approaches had significantly increased in international relations. “There is an acute deficit of dialogue, cooperation and mutual understanding. Of course, the role of regional and transregional organizations and associations is growing under these conditions."
The session participants stated that the external pressure of the West continued to grow and it was impossible to withstand it alone.
“We need to look for like-minded countries. The EAEU, the SCO and the BRICS are successful structures that have specific goals and very clear jurisdictions. The most important thing is that the philosophy of functioning of all these structures is very consonant,” Yury Gorelik, Director of the Department for Foreign Economic Activity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus emphasized.
According to Omid Golzari, Director General of the International Cooperation Department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, the geopolitical situation in the world poses a threat to the international situation. “Global trends are developing in such a way that neither country can ignore the need to develop and strengthen regional ties,” Omid Golzari said.
For the Russian side, the most relevant matters today are trade- and cooperation-related challenges. “BRICS countries successfully promote common approaches on the inadmissibility of discriminatory measures and take a joint stance on the illegitimacy of unilateral trade restrictions,” Dmitry Volvach, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, noted.
The blocking of trade settlements and interruptions in transport logistics have become obstacles to business cooperation between the countries. Production chains are being disrupted. Liu Xuesong, Plenipotentiary Minister at the Embassy of the People's Republic of China to the Russian Federation, dwelled on this problem.
“Within the EAEU, the SCO and the BRICS, we should make full use of our own market and resource advantages, actively adopt settlements in national currencies and build new logistics and transport routes. China is ready to actively explore the possibilities for holding negotiations and signing agreements on the Eurasian economic partnership,” Liu Xuesong said.
The session participants were unanimous that only joint actions would help increase the stability of national economies.
“The idea of developing the Greater Eurasian Partnership based on the principles of voluntariness and respect for the interests of each country deserves further promotion and is supported by many Member States, including Kazakhstan, the Chairman of CICA,” Kairat Sarybay, Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, stated confidently.
