Heads of CIS member-states consider need for completing free trade zone formation

In a statement summarizing the Commonwealth's 20-year-activity, the heads of CIS member states stressed the need to complete the formation of a free trade zone, RIA Novosti said.

"Stressing the steady growth of foreign trade volumes, the CIS participant-countries seek to improve and intensify the economic cooperation on the basis of the strategy of CIS economic development till 2020," the statement made in Dushanbe on Saturday said.

The document stressed that at present, a key task is to complete the formation of a free trade zone. The presidents are also convinced of the need to further modernize the economy, to cooperate in ensuring food security and to effectively use energy potential of the countries.

The draft document had been developed by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and submitted for consideration to the CIS Executive Committee at the end of 2008. Since then, a special working group held a series of negotiations examining and taking into account proposals and remarks of concerned states. This February, the working group took the decision to consider the text of articles of the draft agreement and several attachments to it agreed.

The draft document, specified in accordance with submitted proposals, was approved at a meeting of the CIS Economic Council’s Committee for Economic Issues in March 2011.

The drafted document envisions the formation of common agreement basis meeting modern requirements, with the purpose of full-scale liberalization of trade within the CIS area. The new agreement envisages minimization of import duty-related withdrawals from the free trade mode. Under to-be agreement, export duties shall be fixed and, once the agreement enters into force, negotiations over phase-to-phase cancellation of export duties shall be commenced.


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