Loans and policy: the EAEU has allocated 5 billion rubles for joint projects

The EAEU will allocate 5 billion rubles to finance joint investment projects: this amount has already been included in the organization's budget, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council on September 30. The parties discussed a number of topics related to further integration, as well as plans for cooperation with other states. In particular, work on the free trade agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia has reached the final stage. Experts say there is interest in cooperation with the union in other countries as well. The Russian prime minister also met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. The Republic will preside over the EAEU bodies in 2025. About how bilateral relations are developing and what are the prospects for the union — in the material of Izvestia.

What did the heads of government of the EAEU countries agree on?

At a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EIC) on September 30, participants discussed 19 issues on the integration agenda — the introduction of digital technologies, the development of transport infrastructure, the control of commodity flows, the implementation of intergovernmental programs, and the promotion of cooperative projects in industry and agriculture. Apart from Mikhail Mishustin, the head of the Government of Belarus, Alexander Turchin, Chairman of the EEC Board Bakytzhan Sagintayev, as well as the Prime Ministers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Olzhas Bektenov and Adylbek Kasymaliev took part in the meeting in a narrow format. Armenia participates in the events via video link, the republic is represented by Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan.

Following the meeting, the heads of government of the EAEU countries approved a package of six documents. Among the decisions taken is an order on the creation and development of transport infrastructure in the territories of the EAEU states in the East—West and North–South directions, including in conjunction with the Chinese initiative "One Belt— One Road". In addition, the heads of delegations ordered to strengthen support for cooperation in agriculture, and also instructed to launch a full-format mechanism for the traceability of goods imported into the territory of the EAEU.

The EAEU countries are ready to allocate more than 5 billion rubles to co-finance industrial cooperative investment projects. It's about subsidizing interest rates on loans. "Business interest in this tool is growing," the Russian prime minister said. At the same time, the number of banks and development institutions involved in the financing process is now expanding. At the moment there are about 80 of them.

According to the Russian Prime Minister, the EAEU countries should continue to strengthen ties between industrial enterprises and establish technology exchange. In his opinion, it is important to conduct a coordinated policy of the union in general in order to ensure the independence of key industries from foreign decisions and increase the competitiveness of the five countries, Mishustin noted.

The subsidy mechanism for joint projects between the countries should be extended to the agricultural sector, the Russian Prime Minister stressed at a meeting of the heads of government of the EAEU countries with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko. At the expense of their own agriculture, the Union states cover over 90% of domestic needs. The provision of additional assistance to agricultural producers will significantly strengthen the food security of the "five", the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation is convinced.

An important issue for the association is the expansion of cooperation with foreign partners. Work on a free trade agreement with Indonesia has reached the final stage. "Its implementation, as well as the entry into force of international agreements with the UAE and Mongolia, will qualitatively improve the Five's foreign economic relations with other countries of the Global South," Mishustin stressed.

— Now, within the framework of the EAEU, preliminary assessments of the feasibility of signing a free trade area with Tunisia are underway. Potentially, such an agreement can be concluded with Algeria, which is a fairly large economy in North Africa, and it could also become a bridge for closer integration into Africa as a whole. Egypt may be interesting, despite the economic crisis. In the case of Asia, it could be Malaysia and Pakistan. Malaysia, with more than 30 million people, is a major exporter of electronics and a major buyer of Russian and Kazakh fertilizers and agricultural products," says Alexander Korolev, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Relations between Russia and Belarus

Mikhail Mishustin also held talks with Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. It is Belarus that holds the presidency of the EAEU in 2025. "I hope that the result of our work will be meaningful preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council under the leadership of our presidents," Mikhail Mishustin said.

Belarus is now one of the most active players in the EAEU, Yuri Shevtsov, director of the Center for European Integration in Minsk, told Izvestia.

Relations between Moscow and Minsk are of the nature of a strategic partnership and alliance. After the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation, cooperation between states has significantly intensified, and cooperation is underway in almost all areas.

— There are prerequisites for the growth of trade turnover between Russia and Belarus. Many companies have left the Russian market, and mostly Russian manufacturers have replaced them, but Belarusian companies have also gained a part of the market. The construction of a second nuclear power plant in Belarus, or two more units at the first existing one, is getting closer. This will give a big boost to the turnover," the expert said.

Earlier, Alexander Lukashenko proposed building a nuclear power plant in the east of the country.: "Rosatom has already worked out options for further expansion of our nuclear power industry. If there is a decision, we will immediately start building a new power unit or a new station," he said at talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on September 26.

The only operating nuclear power plant in Belarus is located near the border with Lithuania in the Grodno region. The second one will be able to attract investments even at the stage of its construction, Yuri Shevtsov is sure. The station will be the second most powerful investment project in the republic and will ensure a significant increase in trade turnover, the expert concluded.