BELARUS, RUSSIA, KAZAKHSTAN SIGN CUSTOMS UNION AGREEMENTS

Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan sign Customs Union agreements

Prime Minster of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky, Prime Minister of Russia Viktor Zubkov and Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Karim Masimov signed nine documents in Moscow on January 25.

The package of documents is aimed at further development of the legal-treaty base of the Customs Union of the three countries. The start to the process was given by the president of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan at the summit in Dushanbe.

The package of documents includes the agreement on single customs-tariff regulation, export customs duties in respect to third countries, single rules of defining the country of origin of goods, on single measures of non-tariff regulation in respect to third countries, on application of special protective, anti-dumping and compensatory measures in respect to third countries. The package of documents also includes the agreement on determining the customs cost of goods produced in third countries and moved across the border of the Customs Union, on introducing customs statistics of foreign trade in goods in the Customs Union. Moreover, the Prime Ministers of the three countries signed the agreements on the principles of levying indirect taxes in export/import of goods, on providing works and services and also on coordinated policy in technical regulations of sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures.

Belarus is enthusiastic advocate of EurAsEC Customs Union, Sergei Sidorsky says

Belarus is an active and enthusiastic advocate of the speediest creation of the full-fledged Customs Union and single economic spaced in the EurAsEC, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said at a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council in Moscow.

The Belarusian Prime Minister said that the integration cooperation of Belarus in the EurAsEC and other regional organisations will benefit the development of the national economy, will help overcome the difficulties related to the adaptation to the new energy prices and global competition.

According to Sergei Sidorsky, the immediate goals of the EurAsEC is to ensure strict compliance with the Customs Union development plan of action approved by the presidents of Belarus Russia and Kazakhstan and to adopt the concepts of the single energy and transport space. The Prime Minister of Belarus suggested submitting these two concepts for approval at the next session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council at the level of the heads of state. “Their adoption will open up the way for signing a whole range of important international treaties, to the formation of the EurAsEC common energy and transport policy, Sergei Sidorsky said. – This would correspond to the logic of the EurAsEC integration cooperation and realities of the modern world with its regionalisation processes.”

2007 was not an easy year for the economy of Belarus and other EurAsEC member states, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said at a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council at the level of the heads of government in Moscow on January 25.

Sergei Sidorsky said that the economic situation in Belarus was affected by the international negative trends including increasing prices for imports raw materials and farm products and also the volatile situation on the currency market.

Growing energy prices, new trade cognitions necessitated addressing a whole range of issues to keep the Belarusian products competitive, Sergei Sidorsky said. In this context Belarus placed a special emphasis on the innovation development of the economy.

In line with the programme of innovation development of Belarus, this country will launch more than 100 new companies in the near five years, Belarusian Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky noted during a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council.

Moreover, 386 new productions are expected to be set up at operating companies and 609 industrial companies are expected to be modernized, the prime minister said.

In 2007, Belarus launched 166 new industrial facilities.

Further development of the negative tendencies in the world, first of all, possible financial crisis can put at risk some social achievements and innovation course of the economic development of Belarus, Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Sidorsky said when speaking at a session of the EurAsEC Interstate Council in Moscow January 25.

Sergei Sidorsky noted that some negative tendencies started showing in 2007. These were the growing prices for energy and other feed stock, volatile currency market, increasing word prices for farm products.

Sergei Sidorsky stressed that despite the difficult situation the leadership of Belarus has managed to settle social tasks. Real incomes grew by 15% for the population in 2007 while the annual projections were 7.5-8.5%. At the end of 2007 the wages averaged $370 in equivalent. Labour pensions were indexed twice; minimum labour and social pension benefits, children’s benefits were increased four times.

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