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EAEU, India ramp up talks on free trade zone, says Eurasian Economic Commission chief

India and the EAEU finalized preliminary expert consultations on the formation of a free trade zone in December 2021

MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. The agreement on a free trade zone between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India is actively being readied, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Mikhail Myasnikovich said on Friday.

"We have high hopes of preparations of agreements on free trade zones with Iran and India, of course. I held certain consultations with Indian Foreign Minister on the SCO sidelines in Dushanbe last year," he said, adding that "in this situation there are requests, and the work has been strengthened to some extent." "The prospects are fairly good here and there is no way for us to stop here, we should move ahead, and I think there are all conditions for it in this regard," Myasnikovich said at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

India and the EAEU finalized preliminary expert consultations on the formation of a free trade zone in December 2021. They agreed to start the talks on concluding the agreement in early 2022.

The Eurasian Economic Union, with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia as member states, has already entered into free trade zone agreements with Vietnam and Singapore, as well as a temporary agreement with Iran. The talks on free trade zones are also underway with Egypt and Israel. Russia is India’s biggest trade partner among EAEU nations.

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