CUSTOMS UNION TO BE SET UP AFTER RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN JOIN WTO – RUSSIAN MINISTER
RIA Novosti
5 Apr 06
Moscow, 5 April: A customs union within the Eurasian Economic Community
(EurAsEC) will be created after Russia and Kazakhstan join the WTO,
Russian Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref told
journalists on Wednesday [5 April], during a break in the second
session of the financial and economic policy council of the EurAsEC.
“First Russia and Kazakhstan will join the WTO and then we will create
a customs union,” Gref said.
According to Gref, the session of representatives of counties members
of the EurAsEC on Wednesday “noted the need for parallel work to join
the WTO and create the customs union”. Documents needed to create
the customs union should be drafted within a short timescale and
initialled, but they will be signed when Russia and Kazakhstan will
already have joined the WTO, the minister specified. At the same time
he refused to name a specific timescale within which this can happen.
Gref reported that issues to do with the economic development of the
counties of the community were discussed during the session of the
financial and economic policy council of the EurAsEC. “We agreed on a
strategy and tactics of actions, including the coordination of actions
aimed at joining the WTO and creating the customs union,” Gref noted.
He expressed the hope that “following the decisions [taken],
coordination between counties in the creation of a unified economic
space and joining the WTO will considerably increase”.
The EurAsEC comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine have observer
status in the EurAsEC.