CIS member states to speed up creation of customs union

CIS member states to speed up creation of customs union

15:4722/05/2009

ASTANA, May 22 (RIA Novosti) – Members of the post-Soviet Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) plan to speed up the setting up of a
customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a Russian deputy
economics minister said Friday.
"The terms on establishing the Customs Union will be amended, and its
key elements will be introduced from January 2010," Andrei Slepnev
said at a session of the council of the CIS prime ministers in
Kazakhstan, adding that members plan to draft and sign a new free
trade zone agreement by 2011.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in Astana Thursday for a
meeting of CIS heads of government.
Slepnev said establishing a customs union would be discussed in a week
in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Russia and Kazakhstan signed on
Thursday a memorandum on creating a customs union during bilateral
negotiations in Astana.
"We also agreed on close coordination and communication during
negotiations within the WTO framework," he said.
Russia has been negotiating its entry into the World Trade
Organization for more than 15 years.
To date, Russia has completed the necessary bilateral negotiations
with 60 interested countries, but has yet to coordinate positions on
several issues, including agriculture, export duties for timber, and
regulation of the activities of some state companies.
Russia is the world’s only major economy still outside the WTO. The
agreement of all 153 WTO members is necessary for a state to join the
body.
Sergei Lebedev, chairman of the CIS executive committee, said Friday
the CIS premiers also decided to develop joint measures to prevent the
spread of swine flu.
The World Health Organization confirmed in its daily report on Friday
11,168 cases of the virus in 42 countries with 86 deaths.