MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on December 26, which is to be held in the Leningrad Region at the Igora resort complex, Russian President’s aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"On December 26, in Igora, our president will attend a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which will be chaired by Armenian Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan. Armenia is chairing the EAEU this year. The event will also be attended by the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as observer countries: Uzbekistan and Cuba," Ushakov said.
As the Russian presidential aide noted, Cuba's participation in the meeting will be in the format of a video address by the country's president, Miguel Diaz-Canel.
"In 2024, it’s been 10 years since the signing of the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, which took place on May 29, 2014," Ushakov recalled.
"We note that over 10 years, the EAEU has achieved good specific results. The combined GDP of the union countries has grown from $1.6 trillion to $2.4 trillion. The volume of mutual trade between the member states has almost doubled, from $45 bln to 87.5 bln. Trade turnover with third countries has soared 1.4 times. In turn, the union's external debt has decreased by almost 15%, and the portfolio of accumulated mutual direct investments has reached $17.7 bln," the Russian leader's aide said.
At the meeting the leaders will approve the main areas of international activity of the EAEU for 2025 and the organization's budget, the Kremlin official said.
"Following the summit, it is planned to sign a number of important documents, including a decision to grant the Islamic Republic of Iran the status of an observer state in the EAEU," he said.
From January 1, 2025, chairmanship in the EAEU will pass from Armenia to Belarus. It is expected that at the upcoming meeting, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will outline the priorities of his chairmanship for 2025, Ushakov said.