Ulaanbaatar
First consultative meeting of joint working group held
Politics
Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. First consultative meeting of the joint
working group in charge of studying the opportunity to conclude a free trade
agreement between Mongolia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took place
virtually on October 5.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and relevant government agencies and academics of Mongolia,
the authorities of the Department of Trade Policy of the Eurasian Economic
Commission (EEC), as well as representatives of the EAEU member states -
Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
During the meeting, the sides agreed on the
work plan of the joint working group to study the possibility of concluding a
free trade agreement, and exchange of relevant
information in the framework of joint research.
The sides also decided to organize the next consultative
meeting in a virtual manner due to the current situation of the global pandemic.
The conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement with the EAEU
that has 184.3 million consumers of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and
Armenia, and that has a common foreign trade policy and procedures, and a
common customs regulation, is believed to reduce trade deficits with this
region, which is geographically close to Mongolia, revitalize cooperation and
increase opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.
From 2016, Mongolia proposed to set up a Joint Working Group
to study the possibility of concluding a Free Trade Agreement with a purpose to
expand trade and economic cooperation between Mongolia and the EAEU.
Consequently, a meeting of the Council of the EEC dated September 11, 2020 issued
a decision that supported the establishment of the joint working group.
