EAEU, Mongolia expect to complete preparation of temporary free trade agreement
Interfax - 14 March 2024
EAEU, Mongolia expect to complete preparation of temporary free trade agreement
The countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Mongolia intend to complete the preparation of a temporary agreement on setting up a free trade zone by the end of 2024, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) said following consultations with Mongolian representatives earlier this week.
The temporary agreement envisions a limited range of goods which it would apply to.
"It stands to reason that we’ve been speaking of a temporary agreement, as time does matter. It’s important for us to quickly and promptly achieve a result that everyone would feel," the EEC quoted its Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev as saying.
The EAEU and Mongolia "have a broad range of opportunities to increase the level of competitiveness of national industrial manufacturing facilities, enhance bilateral trade, and improve the terms of access to each other’s markets," it said.
Mongolia currently has observer status at the EAEU, whose members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia.
The EEC and the Mongolian government concluded a cooperation agreement in June 2015. They put together a joint research team in 2020 to explore the feasibility of concluding a free trade agreement.
