ASTANA, February 10. /TASS/. Interest in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is growing from countries outside it, while the network of free trade agreements is constantly expanding, Russian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Alexey Borodavkin said in an interview with TASS.
He recalled that a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in Kazakhstan at the end of January. "A number of documents were signed after the meeting. The main result was that the interest in the union is growing, the institution of observer states is developing, the network of free trade agreements is expanding, and new convenient mechanisms that facilitate practical cooperation are being formed," the ambassador said.
Borodavkin noted that two projects that will receive support under the new mechanism for subsidizing business initiatives were discussed in detail at the meeting. "In both cases, these are associations of companies from Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, which will together engage in high-tech production of products for high-speed and high-speed railway lines and the production of agricultural machinery in Kazakhstan," he said.
The ambassador also said that joint work to unlock the union's transport and logistics potential was continued at the meeting. "In addition, work is underway to create an integrated information system necessary for the electronic exchange of data and documents between the EAEU countries," he said.
The EAEU currently includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. Observer status has been granted to Cuba, Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Iran.