“The priority of the Eurasian Economic Union's further development is its positioning as a pole of economic attraction on the international stage. In this regard, it is very important for us to deepen cooperation with the BRICS countries in the real economy,” Goar Barseghyan, Minister in charge of Industry and Agriculture of the Eurasian Economic Commission, stated at the meeting of the BRICS Industry Ministers in Nizhny Novgorod.
Among the promising areas of cooperation, the Minister mentioned attracting investments in creating and modernizing production complexes of the EAEU countries, creating an advanced technology transfer system, including a common digital service for the EAEU and BRICS, and developing mechanisms for mutually beneficial multilateral cooperation in science, technology and innovation, including the establishment of joint industrial and innovation infrastructure and technology platforms.
The EEC Minister proposed to make the “EAEU – BRICS” discussion format as an annual platform for discussing relevant matters of industrial development and expressed confidence that active interaction with the BRICS representatives would enable to achieve significant practical results in developing integration processes aimed at industrial growth and prosperity of the countries.
At the BRICS event venue, Goar Barseghyan had also a meeting with Ciyong Zou, Deputy Director General and Managing Director of the UNIDO Directorate of Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Industrial Development.
“We see great opportunities for interaction between the Commission and UNIDO in such areas as involvement in preparing and implementing joint projects, exchange of experience in terms of '”green“ technologies and technology transfer, and localization of production,” Goar Barseghyan stated. “The time is now to give impetus to our relations and consider further preparation of a roadmap in these fields.”
Emphasizing the importance of implementing a new mechanism for industrial cooperation support in the EAEU, the Minister proposed UNIDO to join the information work on the search for joint cooperative projects with due regard to the organization's extensive network in the Union countries and the initiatives being implemented. Besides, Goar Barseghyan put forward an initiative of the EAEU possible participation in the Industrial Competence Center, being created with the support of UNIDO and BRICS.
“The practice of interaction between UNIDO and the Eurasian Economic Commission will bring the Eurasian Economic Union closer to achieving the Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development Goals adopted by world leaders at the UN,” Goar Barseghyan concluded.
In turn, UNIDO representatives invited the EEC to participate in the multilateral forum on industrial policy.
As part of her working visit to Nizhny Novgorod, Goar Barseghyan held working meetings with Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, Melaku Alebel, Minister of Industry of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Mohammad Mousavi, Deputy Minister of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, Omar Ahmed Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Advanced Technologies of the United Arab Emirates, and Ahmed Riad, Deputy Ambassador of Egypt to the Russian Federation.
Furthermore, Georgy Arzumanyan, Deputy Director of the EEC Industrial Policy Department, presented the EAEU mechanism of financial support for cooperative projects to the industrial enterprises of Nizhny Novgorod. During the presentation, the meeting attendees asked numerous questions regarding the details of the mechanism's implementation: minimum limits of project financing, targeted use of loan proceeds, extension of the mechanism to small companies, and whether an existing project could be financed, and other questions.
