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Mikhail Myasnikovich, Head of EEC Board, held meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
Mikhail Myasnikovich, Head of EEC Board, held a meeting with Alexander Lukashenko, President of Belarus, on May 19 in Minsk.
"It was a very detailed conversation, and I reported on a range of relevant matters of Eurasian economic integration. I am very grateful to Alexander Grigoryevich for interesting and, I would say, bold proposals for deepening integration," Mikhail Myasnikovich told reporters after the meeting.
The Chairman of the EEC Board said that the Head of the Belarusian state had raised issues that were much broader than those stipulated by the draft agenda of the upcoming EAEU summit and the first Eurasian Economic Forum in Bishkek. Heads of state of the Union countries will take part in these events via videoconferencing.
"Much attention was paid to the prospects and format of the EAEU after 2025. We have the EAEU development strategy until 2025 approved by the heads of state in December 2020. And what's in store for 2025... In this regard, these are, certainly, issues related to investment cooperation, and the creation of joint trans-Eurasian companies. First of all, Russian-Belarusian ones, which will feel quite confident in the domestic market and manufacture the goods being in demand on world markets. And in this regard, Alexander Grigoryevich formulated very interesting and constructive recommendations for development institutions. They include not only the Eurasian Development Bank, the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development," Mikhail Myasnikovich noted.
"But, certainly, some internal sources. Now, we are facing what would seem the unfriendly behavior of other countries, but this is precisely the time that requires very considerable investments in creating new projects. First of all, those related to import substitution. All these issues I have accepted for further study. Certainly, a very serious discussion is ahead at the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council," the Chairman of the EEC Board informed.
Besides, the issues of import duty distribution were discussed. "In accordance with the Treaty on the EAEU dated 2014, duties are collected in national currencies. Then they are split, transferred to the national bank, which converts them into dollars, and distributed in dollars to other countries' treasuries," Mikhail Myasnikovich explained.
"Now, a temporary agreement has been signed, according to which Belarus and Russia work based on the Russian ruble. While Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan use the old scheme of currency settlements among themselves and the Russian ruble when settling with us. "In this regard, the SEEC meeting will consider an interesting issue of introducing some amendments to the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union based on a certain modern model and settlement scheme," the Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board informed.
As Mikhail Myasnikovich noted, Alexander Lukashenko expressed his views on that matter, which, certainly, would be used in practice. "And in the time remaining, it will still be necessary to correct certain documents, whose drafts are submitted for consideration by the heads of state," Mikhail Myasnikovich added.
