Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan who is in the Russian Federation on a working visit attended today a regular session of the Supreme Eurasian Council in Sochi. The event was attended by President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbai Zheenbekov, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, as well as President of the Republic of Moldova Igor Dodon in the capacity of observer. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tigran Sargsyan was in attendance.

The Supreme Eurasian Council first met in narrow, then in extended format. Proceeding to the agenda, the participants discussed and agreed upon the action plans for economic integration, liberalization of goods, services, capital and labor markets.

The meeting approved the key milestones of macroeconomic policy in 2018-2019, as well as the steps aimed at developing cooperation in such spheres as nuclear and renewable energy, digital economy, healthcare and social policy.

Special attention was paid to the expansion of Union’s international activities. In particular, the treaty “On the procedures for concluding international treaties on behalf of the Eurasian Economic Union” and the decision “On the Status of Associated Observer-State” were approved for signing.

Reference was made to other issues of EAEU activities. It was decided to hold the next session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in late November or early December in St. Petersburg.

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Statement by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council

Honorable Chairman of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council,
Distinguished Heads of State,
Dear participants,

First of all, I would like to congratulate all those present on the past holiday – the Great Victory. The Great Patriotic War was a challenging test for the EAEU-member countries and other peoples of the world.

We have the duty of keeping and handing down the memory of our dear veterans’ heroic deeds to the younger generations. We must do everything possible to ensure security, sustainable development and prosperity for our countries.

Also, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the President of Russia for warm reception and hospitality, as well as for organizing such a high-level summit.

Distinguished Heads of State,

As you may know, a peaceful transfer of power took place in Armenia. We have already formed a government, which does not envision a foreign policy shift in its program.

I reaffirm the full commitment of the Republic of Armenia to its international obligations, including within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.
We are committed to active cooperation with EAEU partners, proceeding from the practical interest of free movement of goods, services, labor and capital, as well as the introduction of privileged regimes of economic cooperation, governed by EAEU laws.

The discourse in the Armenian society related to the EAEU is conditioned by the fact that the solution of administrative issues, the transition to new general regulatory mechanisms, as well as the existence of various obstacles still fall short of the expectations of business to get immediate and tangible results, which is at the heart of the Eurasian integration philosophy.

I believe that the joint efforts of EAEU-member countries and our consistency on the way to achieving tangible results day by day can minimize the implications of such discussions.

As a stakeholder, Armenia first of all proceeds from the assumption that we need to enhance trade and economic cooperation, focus on high and cutting-edge technologies, provide equal conditions for business entities and find knots on the issues that directly affect the quality of life.

After all, when economic indicators are not visible and tangible to citizens, they are transformed into the “category of statistics.”

Distinguished Heads of State,

Before dwelling on two or three agenda items, I would like to emphasize that the Armenian side is ready to support the adoption of all agreed documents. With respect to the issues related to the external activities of the EAEU, I would like to emphasize that after lengthy discussions, the observer status proves to fully stem from the Union Treaty.

We believe that the elaboration of the issue of introducing other formats of cooperation with third countries should be considered after analyzing the practical implementation of the observer status, especially as today we are going to adopt the treaty on agreements with third countries or other integration associations aimed at the settlement of contractual arrangements, simplification of the joint research team’s activities and much more.

The implementation of the macroeconomic policy for 2018-2019 will undoubtedly contribute to the achievement of national priorities, including the implementation of steps toward shaping a single market of services.

In conclusion, I would like to express the hope that the cooperation between EAEU-member States shall be aimed at development, creation of favorable conditions for entrepreneurship and investment, and improvement of our citizens’ living standards.

Thank you.