'India-EAEU free trade to be operational by 2020 '
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a restricted meeting in Kremlin, RussiaA free trade zone between India and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) should be up and running by 2020, a senior Russian official said even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russia’s President Vadimir Putin were getting ready to discuss ways to renew trade ties. The Prime Minister, during his recently concluded two-day visit to Russia, emphasised the need to conclude the free trade agreement and stressed that the development will benefit the entire Central Asia region. “We are moving forward on the India-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement. This will also benefit us in Central Asia,” Modi said at the joint press briefing with Putin in Moscow. On December 24, Russian Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev had indicated that the free trade area between EAEU and India should become operational by 2020. The Union, which currently has Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam as members, was introduced in January this year to promote trade and economic integration in the region. Launched on January 1 this year, EAEU aims to encourage competitiveness and increase economic integration among member states. Once implemented, the EAEU will enable free movement of goods, services, capital and labour, with coordinated single policy in the specified sectors of the economy. Russia, in particular, has been keen to conclude the EAEU agreement at the earliest possible date to lessen the impacts of the West-led sanctions on its economy. Last week, the European Union had agreed to extend trade restrictions on Russia, following latter’s invasion of Crimea and its aggression in eastern Ukraine last year. India had agreed to sign free trade agreement with EAEU on June 18 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2015).
December 28, 2015 | 02:45pm IST
to success.