Video: Pashinyan's Speech at the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council Meeting

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the extended meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan. Before the start of the meeting, the heads of government of the EAEU member states attended the ceremony marking the issuance of stamps dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the formation of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

During the extended meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan delivered a speech in which he noted, "Esteemed members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, honorable participants of the meeting, first, I want to express my gratitude to our Kyrgyz partners and personally to Akilbek Japarov for the traditional warm hospitality and for organizing today’s event at a high level. I sincerely welcome the heads of government of the member states and observer countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as the participants and guests of today’s meeting.

"Undoubtedly, the meeting of the Intergovernmental Council provides a great opportunity to continue exchanging views on a number of key issues and to develop mutually acceptable solutions aimed at minimizing the challenges that the global economy has encountered in unprecedented scales and depth over recent months. Despite the global economic transformations and significant shocks to financial systems, there is a positive trend in trade and economic relations thanks to the advantages of Eurasian integration.

"In this context, I would like to note that in the first half of 2022, Armenia's economy ensured a significant increase in mutual trade volumes with EAEU countries. During that period, mutual trade with EAEU countries increased by 52.5% compared to the same period in 2021, amounting to 1.7 billion USD, with Armenian exports to EAEU countries rising by 48.9% and imports by 54.2%. It is worth mentioning that the growth rates of exports in mutual trade are higher than those of Armenian product exports to third countries.

"I am confident that further cooperation will be no less effective, including due to the realization of new initiatives. There is one more issue that I would like to draw the attention of my colleagues to. In recent months, there have been significant deviations in the distribution of customs duties due to changes in the structure of external trade of the Union. Based on this, we deem it necessary to return to the discussion of establishing a unified methodology for the distribution of shares in the near future.

"Dear colleagues, as a continuation of the discussion of key issues on the agenda that began during yesterday’s narrow-format meeting, I would like to touch upon certain aspects relevant to our Union. I would like to emphasize that the Republic of Armenia attaches great importance to the formation of a common gas market within the Union and is ready for constructive dialogue to reach a consensus on unresolved issues.

"In terms of achieving a comprehensive common market for goods and services, we consider integration in the field of transport and infrastructure to be vital. With the right approach, the transport and logistics sector can become one of the main drivers of EAEU development and a competitive advantage for the association, creating favorable organizational and economic conditions for transit transport.

"For the construction of the EAEU transport and logistics complex, it is necessary to synchronize economic policies at the national and supranational levels and ensure the consistency of approaches to the design and operation of integration infrastructure projects. In this context, I would like to particularly mention the active cooperation with the Eurasian Development Bank and the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development, both in terms of bilateral formats and in promoting integration projects with a cooperative effect.

"The creation of new cooperative chains and the use of financial institutions' toolkits will serve as an effective impetus for the development of industrial cooperation. Another very important factor in solving the proposed challenges is the use of the advantages of digitalization, which in turn creates a solid foundation for effective integration and interaction of member countries in the high-tech sector. Global experience has clearly demonstrated how significant its economic impact can be.

"Advancing digital technologies in the economy and trade will help minimize and even completely eliminate existing barriers, which will in turn increase the effectiveness of economic ties and reduce costs in trade and cooperative chains.

"I consider the development of e-commerce to be another important sector. Regulatory and supervisory measures in the field of e-commerce are becoming increasingly relevant for EAEU countries, necessitating the construction of a reliable control system by securing tax mechanisms that comply with the best international practices of tax administration.

"Given the sensitivity of the issue, it is necessary to jointly and promptly move towards improving the normative-legal environment for e-commerce. It is evident that measures aimed at increasing economic growth are interconnected with addressing a number of issues in the fields of education, health care, and social protection, and in this regard, enhancing the economic component between EAEU countries through social and humanitarian projects becomes a priority.

"In this regard, we welcome the holding of the first Youth Forum of the CIS and EAEU. We hope that the work with young people will firmly enter the agenda of our organization, and the forum will become a relevant format for involving young professionals in the decision-making processes at this stage of development of integration processes.

"I am convinced that new leaders will emerge from today’s participants of the forum who will shape the state policies of our countries.

"Esteemed heads of delegations, I would like to conclude by thanking you all for your joint efforts. The Armenian side once again reaffirms its readiness to cooperate in promoting our common agenda to ensure the well-being of citizens of EAEU member states. Thank you for your attention."

During the meeting, issues related to the formation of a common gas market within the Union, financing of industrial cooperation, development of transport integration projects, regulations of the alcoholic market, and specific aspects of tax administration in e-commerce were discussed. It was decided that the next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will be held in October in Yerevan.