16.09.2025, 22:06
The EAEU and India will begin work on a trade agreement
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS Representatives of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India will begin practical work on a free trade agreement in the coming days, said Andrei Slepnev, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
Slepnev arrived in India the day before and has already held talks with Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal.
"As for the practical content of our work, we exchanged certain expectations from the future agreement in the most general terms, and the main agreement is that our negotiating teams will start practical work literally next week," Slepnev told reporters after the meeting.
The Minister recalled that in August of this year, following the visit of Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar to Russia, the parties completed work on agreeing on the terms of reference for negotiations.
"This is an important document that describes the content of the future agreement and the organization of work. This document has been signed, and it stipulates that we are focused on completing negotiations on a comprehensive agreement within 18 months," Slepnev said.
He also noted that during negotiations with the Indian Minister of Commerce, an agreement was reached that "the first formal round, where substantive agreements will be discussed and fixed, will be held in early November."
"The key agreement is also that we will patronize this negotiation process at the ministerial level in order to facilitate its dynamics and resolve important key issues. This is the amount of agreements we have reached, and then we will have work to do. We in the Eurasian Union are focused on going through a serious cycle of work by the time of the December summit and trying to reach agreements in principle on key things that will allow us to be sure that we will be able to get results in 2026. We have such an attitude," Slepnev said.
According to the International Trade Center (a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations), the trade turnover between the EAEU countries and India in 2024 amounted to $ 69 billion, an increase of 7% compared to 2023.
Slepnev arrived in India the day before and has already held talks with Indian Minister of Trade and Industry Piyush Goyal.
"As for the practical content of our work, we exchanged certain expectations from the future agreement in the most general terms, and the main agreement is that our negotiating teams will start practical work literally next week," Slepnev told reporters after the meeting.
The Minister recalled that in August of this year, following the visit of Indian Foreign Minister Subramaniam Jaishankar to Russia, the parties completed work on agreeing on the terms of reference for negotiations.
"This is an important document that describes the content of the future agreement and the organization of work. This document has been signed, and it stipulates that we are focused on completing negotiations on a comprehensive agreement within 18 months," Slepnev said.
He also noted that during negotiations with the Indian Minister of Commerce, an agreement was reached that "the first formal round, where substantive agreements will be discussed and fixed, will be held in early November."
"The key agreement is also that we will patronize this negotiation process at the ministerial level in order to facilitate its dynamics and resolve important key issues. This is the amount of agreements we have reached, and then we will have work to do. We in the Eurasian Union are focused on going through a serious cycle of work by the time of the December summit and trying to reach agreements in principle on key things that will allow us to be sure that we will be able to get results in 2026. We have such an attitude," Slepnev said.
According to the International Trade Center (a joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations), the trade turnover between the EAEU countries and India in 2024 amounted to $ 69 billion, an increase of 7% compared to 2023.
Комментарии