Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin’s interview with TASS Agency, February 5, 2024

Question: Mr Pankin, Russia chaired the Eurasian Economic Union in 2023. What are the results?

Alexander Pankin: The Russian EAEU year was quite eventful and productive.

We did an immense amount of work – it could take several interviews to cover it all – but as a foreign ministry representative I would like to dwell on the foreign policy aspect of the Russian chairmanship.

I certainly cannot but note the importance and significance of the full-scale Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EAEU and the Islamic Republic of Iran, signed on the sidelines of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council’s meeting in St Petersburg last December. This document opens up vast opportunities for our countries in terms of building up mutual trade and cooperation in various areas. I am confident that the FTA is not just ticking another box on the list of the EAEU’s achievements but an important step on the road to expanding preferential trade regimes, which is of practical value for businesses. The Agreement creates new, more favourable opportunities for entering the Iranian market and places Iranian goods, including food, within reach of consumers.

In 2023, in addition, the EAEU states and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EAEC), the Union’s supranational body, held six rounds of negotiations with other countries, including one round with Egypt, three rounds with Indonesia, and two rounds with the United Arab Emirates. Much productive work has been done, which, I am confident, will only benefit the economies involved.  

It is also necessary to mention the Memorandum of Collaboration between the EAEC and the Government of Myanmar signed in June 2023.   This document creates a good foundation for information exchanges and makes it possible to find points of contact and establish mutually beneficial cooperation.

Speaking about the results of the Russian chairmanship in 2023, I would like to dwell on a vast programme of public events that helped us to present EAEU achievements internationally. I will name just a few of the most important events in this category: the 2nd Eurasian Economic Forum in May 2023, attended by more than 2,500 guests from over 50 countries; the 3rd Eurasian Congress; the Eurasia is Our Home exhibition; the 2nd CIS and EAEU Youth Forum in June 2023; the EAEU- Africa: Horizons for Cooperation thematic session held on the sidelines of the 2nd Russia-Africa Summit in July 2023; and ASEAN-EAEU Days in November 2023.

I also suggest that we pay tribute to the Foreign Ministry as the key participant in preparing certain EAEU events.  

Specifically, the EAEU countries adopted a Joint Statement on the EAEU Day at the meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in May 2023. The foreign ministry organised the Eurasian Forum of Young Diplomats, Diplomacy of the New Multipolar World, in July 2023. The Joint Statement by the EAEU Member States on the Impact of Eurasian Economic Integration on Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), presented by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk during the Sustainable Development Goals Summit under the auspices of the UN General Assembly in September 2023 was of much importance in promoting the EAEU’s positive international image.

We can safely say that these events were the reason why the EAEU was mentioned on all continents of the world in 2023.  I think that this would have been impossible without the concerted effort by the Five and the EAEC as a whole, as well as by Russian government agencies, the Foreign Ministry team, and Russian foreign missions.

Question: Commenting on the Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Iran, you placed special emphasis on its benefits for the population and business communities of the EAEU member states. What other steps have been taken within the Union in 2023 to benefit the people?

Alexander Pankin: Over the past year, we have signed 12 agreements and several hundred acts of the Union's bodies aimed at deepening integration. Most of them are very specific and concern customs tariffs and non-tariff regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and other sectoral issues. All of them are ultimately aimed at improving the well-being of our citizens. Let me provide a few examples.

In 2023, the temporary measure setting a higher threshold of 1,000 euros for duty-free importation of goods for individuals into the EAEU territory was extended. One cannot deny that this step directly affects the population of the EAEU member states.

Another example has to do with the price of eggs in our country, which was discussed during Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference in December 2023. The increase in demand led to a rise in their cost due to insufficient domestic production. Ultimately, the solution to this problem was the establishment of preferential tariffs within the EAEU for the import of these products from friendly countries into the Russian Federation, as well as changes in the volume of supplies within the Union. This step has improved the situation: prices are falling, the market is saturated, and there is no shortage.

Another example is the June 2023 agreement signed by EAEU member states on the mutual recognition of academic degrees. This agreement is aimed at enhancing the labour mobility within the Union, which is an integral part of the single labour market. It is important to note that the free movement of workers within the EAEU is one of the four fundamental freedoms of Eurasian economic integration.

Once the signed agreement enters into force, any EAEU member state will be able to recognise a degree obtained in any other EAEU country, which will undoubtedly facilitate the process of employment and labour activity for the Union's citizens.

Therefore, these examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the EAEU in action.

Question: Russia has assumed the CIS chairmanship and BRICS chairmanship this year. How does the EAEU cooperate with these international organisations?

Alexander Pankin: First of all, I would like to note that both associations are priority partners for the EAEU.

The EAEC and the CIS Executive Committee interaction is based on the Memorandum on Intensified Cooperation and the Action Plan to implement it until 2025, adopted pursuant to this Memorandum. In 2023, the CIS states that are not EAEU members repeatedly took part in its events as guests of honour. I think this is a fine tradition confirming that the EAEU has no closer friends and partners than the CIS states.  

In turn, cooperation with BRICS seems an interesting and promising item on the EAEU’s international agenda. The EAEU is interested in a dialogue with BRICS in areas of mutual interest, such as trade regulation, transport and logistics, etc.

In this matter, we have much to offer and show to our partners and we can also profit by their experience.

I am certain that Russia’s chairmanships of the CIS and of BRICS in 2024 will promote cooperation with the EAEU.

Question: During Russia’s EAEU chairmanship, leading Russian media outlets often ran reports on Eurasian economic integration. Now that the chairmanship is over, the EAEU is likely drop out of media focus. What can you advise those who want to receive news updates on the EAEU?  

Alexander Pankin: First of all, I want to say that indeed the EAEU is not in the spotlight as much as we would like it to be. The reason is the specific nature of the issues it deals with. In my opinion, the EAEU should always be in the news; the public should be aware of the processes unfolding there, since, as I said, they have a direct bearing, in one way or another, on all of us. As the saying goes, something can be in or out of fashion, while something else is permanent. I would like the EAEU to be in the latter category.

For this purpose, the Foreign Ministry has maintained a special Telegram account, the EAEU Profile, since April 2022. I advise those wishing to follow the developments within this integration union to subscribe.

There are also EAEC web resources. High-quality analysis and statistics can be found on the Economic Development Ministry’s specialised website entitled Eurasian Integration in Figures, as well as on the Eurasian Development Bank (EADB) website.

Question: Later this year, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the EAEU Treaty. What feeling do you have while looking back on the past decade and its contribution to Eurasian economic integration?

Alexander Pankin: On the one hand, much has been done, considering the challenges that the EAEU countries have faced. There is painstaking work every day behind the EAEU successes in various areas, be it the fight against COVID-19, food security, increased stability in the EAEU economies, or anything else. This cannot help but evoke a feeling of pride and gratitude to our EAEU partners and the EAEC for their productive cooperation.

At the same time, as I see it, it is much more important what we feel looking to the future, to the next decade, rather than how we assess the EAEU’s development over the past decade.

A clear sign of this is the signing by the EAEU heads of state of the Declaration on further development of economic processes within the EAEU until 2030 and for the period until 2045. Entitled The Eurasian Economic Path, this strategic document defines the future of cooperation between the EAEU states in the most important current areas. I am confident that implementing the tasks in hand will benefit the economies, contribute to higher living standards, and create optimal conditions for the business communities in our countries, which are key goals for the EAEU.