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Idea of Eurasian integration becoming real in 21st century – Kazakh president

The idea of Eurasian integration is coming real and is winning millions of supporters in the 21st century

ASTANA, October 25 (Itar-Tass) — The idea of Eurasian integration is coming real and is winning millions of supporters in the 21st century, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev said in a message to participants in the international scientific forum “Kazakhstan and the Eurasian Idea in the New World” that opened here on Tuesday.

The forum is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s independence and the 10th anniversary of the Kazakhstan branch of the Moscow State University.

Nazarbayev’s message was read out by deputy head of the presidential administration Baglan Mailymbayev.

Seventeen years have elapsed since the time when the Moscow State University first formulated basic principles and a program to form a new integration association – the Eurasian union of states.

“In the 21st century, the idea of Eurasian integration is coming real: the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) has been operating for more than ten years, the Customs Union of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia has been formed and now is the core of the Common Economic Space we are beginning to form from January 1, 2012,” Nazarbayev said in the message.

According to the Kazakh president, millions of supporters of the Eurasian idea see a “great civilizing perspective” in it. “It gives our states a possibility to take a due place in the global world and helps our nations to reach a qualitatively new level of economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation,” he stressed.

“This is our common history of future we are writing already now,” the statement said. “Its success is not merely a task for politicians, it also means a laborious work of scholars and experts, and active support from citizens of our countries.”

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