On October 20-21, the regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held in Yerevan, in connection with which the heads of governments of Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states will arrive in Armenia, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported.

Issues related to the development of integration processes in the Eurasian area were discussed in the narrow and expanded format sessions.

Nikol Pashinyan meets with the Prime Minister of Belarus

On October 20, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with Roman Golovchenko, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus.

Welcoming the Prime Minister of Belarus, Pashinyan noted: "The role of the Eurasian Economic Union is growing now because, as we all know, the world is facing difficult economic times. I must mention that the mechanisms we have in the Eurasian Economic Union are sometimes quite useful in such situations."

"I must say, and we have talked about it many times, that every crisis brings both difficulties and new opportunities. In this context, I should note that, for example, the trade turnover between Armenia and Belarus has almost doubled in the current year. Of course, the overall scale is not so big, but a very good dynamic is observed, and I hope that as a result of our meetings and negotiations, we will manage to maintain this economic dynamic. Of course, we are interested in it, and I hope that we will have more and more joint projects that will be competently prepared and will be beneficial for both Belarus and Armenia, our business, and our citizens," he added.

The Prime Minister of Belarus said, "In principle, in recent years, we have moved forward quite well, and if we count from the mid-2000s, we have increased the trade turnover several times. It has grown by another 100 percent in just eight months of this year. It is especially gratifying that foreign trade is balanced; both Belarusian exports to Armenia and Armenian exports to Belarus are growing. Investments are growing as well, and it is also bilateral. The number of enterprises registered in Armenia with Belarusian capital and in Belarus with Armenian capital has increased."

Nikol Pashinyan and Roman Golovchenko exchanged ideas on the agenda and development prospects of Armenian-Belarusian relations. Opportunities for expanding trade and economic ties and implementation of joint projects were discussed. Several bilateral cooperation issues were addressed in the bilateral format and within the framework of Eurasian integration processes.

Nikol Pashinyan participates in the regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council

On the same day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the regular session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council that started in Yerevan.

Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin, Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Roman Golovchenko, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Älihan Smaiylov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Akylbek Japarov and Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich participated in the meeting.

The Prime Minister of Armenia welcomed the colleagues of EAEU member states. The Prime Ministers of the EAEU member states posed for a group photo. At the narrow-format session, the Heads of Government of the EAEU countries discussed the sources and mechanisms of financing industrial projects within the EAEU framework and the elimination of obstacles in the internal market of the Union.

The members of the Intergovernmental Council were informed about the process of preparation of international agreements for the formation of common markets of gas, oil, and oil products, as well as the development of the technical task of the unified analytical system for the management of e-commerce of goods within the Union. The implementation of the instructions and recommendations of the previous sessions was reported.

Vahagn Khachaturyan hosts the EAEU Intergovernmental Council participants at his residence

The participants of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council session were hosted at the residence of the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan.

The President wished a successful course to the work of the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and expressed his belief that discussions in this format will contribute to the development of Eurasian integration processes and the strengthening of economic security mechanisms.

Prime Minister Pashinyan thanked President Khachaturyan for his warm words and provided details about the course of the session. In his speech, the Armenian Prime Minister specifically stated: "Dear Mr. President, we can already say that traditionally we hold the autumn session of the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union in Yerevan. We had the narrow-format session yesterday. I think our colleagues will agree that it was a very productive session. We adopted several important decisions that will contribute to the further development of the EAEU."

"In general, the autumn session is the concluding session of the Intergovernmental Council. Today, it can already be noted that the EAEU economic mechanisms justify themselves because, in these difficult times for the Republic of Armenia, the trade turnover between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union and the Republic of Armenia has more than doubled. This is a really impressive fact. It turns out that the formula that we say is that difficult times and crises bring not only challenges but also new opportunities. We must continue to work closely to take advantage of these opportunities. I am glad we are moving forward in this direction," he added.

An extended session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council

On October 21, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the extended session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council held in Yerevan.

"Armenia's trade turnover with EAEU countries in January-August of this year reached about 2.8 billion USD and increased by 74 percent compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the export from Armenia doubled, and the import grew by 58 percent," he said.

Pashinyan added: "At the same time, with all the opportunities provided by the EAEU common market, we also maintain the specificities and requirements of national legislations and, if necessary, in response to new challenges, apply protective measures for our domestic markets. At the same time, on the way to ensuring the key idea and principle of integration - the full realization of the four freedoms in the territory of the EAEU, we are consistently and purposefully moving forward in the direction of eliminating barriers. In modern realities, eliminating obstacles is a condition for the stability of the internal market, which does not lose its relevance. This is a continuous process, the efficiency and effectiveness of which in many ways depends on the regulated work of the member states and bodies of the Union, as well as the willingness to find compromise solutions."

Several agenda issues were discussed at the extended-format session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, in particular, the target program for the development of the EAEU integrated information system until 2027, the main directions of industrial cooperation within the EAEU framework, the measures implemented in 2021 towards the formation of a common market for gas, oil and oil products. The Council referred to the mutual trade of EAEU countries in 2021, the joint projects implemented in the direction of import substitution, the first set of EAEU measures within the framework of the climate agenda, issues of distribution and registration of import duties between the budgets of EAEU countries in 2021, etc.

Based on the result of the session, several documents were signed, including the Agreement on the rules for issuing, circulation, and redemption of warehouse certificates for agricultural products in the territory of the EAEU, which is aimed at developing electronic commerce in the Union.