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Eurasian Economic Union to sign free trade deal with Vietnam soon — Russian official

The agreement is expected to be signed in the next two months

MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/. A free trade deal between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam will be signed in the coming two months, Eurasian Economic Commission Trade Minister Andrey Slepnyov said on Monday.

"We hope the first pilot project will be launched in the next couple of months, namely, an agreement on a free trade zone with Vietnam will be signed," the Russian official said.

The Treaty on establishing the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in Astana on May 29, 2014 and went into effect from January 1, 2015. The post-Soviet trade bloc established to ensure a free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce on its territory currently comprises Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia.

The free trade deal between the EEU and Vietnam will help expand access to the Vietnamese market and the market of the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, the Russian official said.

"Of course, this is a very serious initiative and it is being studied thoroughly, taking all risks into account. Nevertheless, we have found the balances that generally suit all the sectors and we don’t see any substantial risks that would bring about undesirable or unacceptable results for our industry," Slepnyov said.

This pilot project will help build up efforts for creating free trade zones selectively with the countries that have good economic prospects and where a political dialog has been established, he said.