Vladimir Putin: States in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America are drivers of global economic growth

The central event of the Eurasian Economic Forum, which is taking place in Moscow on 24-25 May, was the plenary session. It was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, leader of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Zhaparov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Mher Grigoryan and chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich. Alexander Shokhin, Chairman of the Presidium of the EEU Business Council, acted as moderator.

The plenary session was also attended by officials of the five countries, entrepreneurs, experts and representatives of public organisations.

At the beginning of his speech the Russian head of state reminded that last December it was decided that the EEF would now be held on a regular basis.

Vladimir Putin stressed that Russia actively cooperates with major international associations such as BRICS, the SCO, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf, and multilateral organisations in Latin America and Africa.

"Trade within the EEU (Eurasian Economic Union) is growing at a confident enough pace, which is also a significant indicator of the effectiveness of our joint work. In 2022, trade turnover increased by 14% ($83.3 billion)," said the Russian president.

According to the Russian leader, today the relevance of building new sustainable logistic chains and accelerated development of international routes has increased.

"We give great importance to this work both within the EEU framework and beyond it, including the North-South corridor project. Just the other day we signed an agreement with our Iranian colleagues to lay a section of the Rasht-Astara railway. It will connect Russian ports in the Baltic and northern seas with Iranian ports on the coast of the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean," added Putin.

Vladimir Putin noted that radical changes are also taking place in the financial sphere. Russia intends to work even more actively with partners around the world for a full transition to national currencies in mutual settlements.

"Many other fast-growing economies around the world, including China, India, and Latin America, are switching to national currencies in their foreign trade payments.

The Russian President highlighted priority tasks for the union, one of which is to ensure technological sovereignty. "Our countries have the scientific, personnel and production potential to produce high-quality high-tech products capable to compete on global markets".

The Russian head of state stressed that it is also important to train highly qualified personnel, unify educational standards in the EEU space and develop independent Eurasian science-based systems and libraries accessible to researchers from many countries.

"Our association also supports other initiatives that aim to develop the whole of Eurasia. In particular, we continue to work with the People's Republic of China on linking the integration processes developing within the EEU with the One Belt, One Road initiative proposed by our Chinese friends. Thus, we consistently realize the ambitious idea of building a great Eurasian partnership"

Vladimir Putin President of Russia

Putin said the Eurasian Union was pursuing an active line to expand ties with other states in the near abroad. "In Asia, with India, in the Middle East, in Africa, in Latin America, the states that represent the absolute majority of the world's population are the drivers. Today, these are drivers of global economic growth, they are key points of attraction for investments and hubs of new transport routes", said Putin.

The 2023 EEF is held under the slogan "Eurasian integration in a multipolar world". It is timed to coincide with the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council with the participation of the heads of the Eurasian Economic Union member states and observer states. The events are held as part of the Russian Federation's presidency of the Eurasian Economic Union bodies in 2023.

Photo: screenshot of the live broadcast of the EEF plenary meeting