Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan arrived in the Republic of Kazakhstan on a working visit. The Prime Minister attended a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Almaty, which was held in narrow and expanded formats.

The meeting was attended by the Prime Ministers of Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Kyrgyzstan. Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Ion Kiku partook in the expanded meeting as an observer state representative.

Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated:
“Dear Heads of Government,
Dear members of delegations,

To begin with, I would like to thank Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin for good organization of the meeting and traditional hospitality.

I would also like to welcome Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin, and Prime Minister of Moldova Ion Kiku who are taking part in the meeting of our Council for the first time. I wish you good luck and would like to assure you of our readiness for active and fruitful cooperation.

Dear friends,

This is our first meeting this year, chaired by the Belarusian side. We support the priority areas of integration identified by Belarus for the period of their chairmanship. In this regard, I would like to emphasize the importance of eliminating the remaining barriers, exemptions and restrictions that impede the formation of a common economic space.

It is also necessary to intensify efforts aimed at creating common EAEU energy and transport markets with non-discriminatory approaches in the field of pricing, tariffs and access to the services of natural monopolies. Improving the efficiency of EAEU bodies, developing transport and logistics infrastructures are another area that should be our focus.

Regarding today’s agenda, I would like to state as follows: we once again discussed progress in removing the outstanding barriers in the Union’s internal market. We have made decisions concerning some of these barriers. However, as I have already noted, we believe it expedient to step up the efforts aimed at eliminating the remaining impediments and creating such favorable conditions as would rule out the possibility of their recurrence.

Regarding the “Strategic Directions for the Development of Eurasian Integration until 2025,” I would like to note that we attach particular importance to the final approval of this document on the basis of those forms of cooperation enshrined in the Treaty on the EAEU.

As you may know, the Republic of Armenia has actively participated and supported the process of creating and implementing the EAEU Digital Agenda. We believe that the formation of an ecosystem of digital transport corridors will provide an opportunity to shrink the gap between consumers and services, as well as between the manufacturer and the seller. It will reduce the time of delivery, as well as the time to search for optimal ways and methods of moving goods, making the market more perfect in this regard.

Dear participants,
As the term of office of the Chairman of the Commission expires on February 1, I would like to thank Tigran Sargsyan and the Commission for good work and wish them every success in future activities. I would also like to wish fruitful work to the new Commission, headed by Mikhail Myasnikovich, as well as the Republic of Belarus, which will chair the EAEU bodies this year.

In conclusion, I want to express Armenia’s readiness to host one of the subsequent meetings of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council during this year. I would be glad to welcome you all to Armenia. And on our part, I want to assure you that we will do our best to hold the Council meeting at the highest level. Thank you.”

During the meeting, the Prime Ministers discussed a number of issues related to the further improvement of EAEU’s functionality and the improvement of the legal framework of the organization. In particular, issues related to the elimination of obstacles and barriers in the EAEU market, the integration of national information systems, cooperation in the field of customs regulation and the formation of common markets were raised.

A number of initiatives were also discussed, including the possibility of expanding the use of national currencies in the Eurasian space and improving protective measures based on international experience.