ST. PETERSBURG, October 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin recognizes the development and deepening of integration in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), despite the difficulties related to the pandemic.
"Despite the well-known difficulties related to the coronavirus pandemic, our interaction on integration is continuing and it is becoming deeper," the Russian head of state said at the EAEU summit, which is being held on Thursday as a video conference.
"We are all interested in the further development of the Eurasian Economic Union, we work closely and achieve results in various fields, primarily in the economy and trade," the Russian leader noted.
Putin added that "such an important joint project as the Strategic Directions for the Development of Economic Integration until 2025 is being successfully implemented." The project was approved in late 2020.
"Economic growth has resumed in almost all EAEU states," Putin stressed.
In the first six months of 2021, Russia’s GDP grew by 4.8%, Putin said adding that during the same period, the industrial production of the entire European Union increased by 4.4% and agricultural output grew by 0.6%.
"In January-June, trade between EAEU member-states increased by almost a third, and the volume of foreign trade of the Eurasian Union with third countries - by a quarter," the Russian President noted.
The member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.