UNCTAD and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEC) have agreed to sign a memorandum of cooperation to carry out joint work in a number of fields.
 Petko Draganov (Deputy S-G of UNCTAD) and Andrey Slepnev (EAEC Trade Minister) sign pre-agreement. |
The UNCTAD Secretary-General has met with EAEC Trade Minister Andrey Slepnev to discuss future cooperation with the new regional body, which began its activities in 2012.
The meeting outlined prospective areas of collaboration between the two organizations, including regional integration, trade and competition policy, facilitation of customs procedures, entrepreneurship development, transport and statistics.
It was decided that a memorandum of cooperation would be signed in the near future.
EAEC was established on the basis of a treaty signed by the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus, and represents a customs union and a common economic space. The total population of the three member countries is approximately 170 million. The economies of the regional union account for around 4 per cent of world GDP.
EAEC has also applied for observer status with UNCTAD, in order to take a more active part in UNCTAD's activities and events. Kazakhstan, one of the three EAEC member countries, will assume the Presidency of UNCTAD's Trade and Development Board in March 2013.
