Russia proposing EEU, SCO, ASEAN consultations on economic partnerships

ZHENGZHOU, China, December 15. /TASS/. Russia proposes to begin consultations between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), on the one hand, and ASEAN member-states, on the other hand, on forming possible economic partnerships, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a session of the SCO Council of Prime Ministers. "Russia proposes to begin consultations between the EEU, the SCO with the inclusion of the countries going to join it and ASEAN on setting up possible economic partnerships on the principles of equality and respect for one another's interests," he said. It is essential, in the first place, to concentrate on protection for capital investment, optimization of the procedures for cross-border movement of commodities, and joint elaboration of technological standards for products, Medvedev said. In addition to it, he mentioned the prospect for an integrated transport system of the SCO. "It would be rational to concentrate efforts on a number of areas, like the transport infrastructure and gives a key to the development of large-scale business projects," Medvedev said. "The main place should be given to the initiatives uniting several member-states of the SCO that have the plans for modernizing their communication." "The idea of an integrated transport system seems to hold much promise," he said adding the system would rely on the potential of the already existing or newly created transport corridors, including Russia's Trans-Siberian Railroad and the Baikal-Amur Mainline. "We’re currently laying down the legal groundwork for this," he said. As he mentioned the favorable conditions for automobile haulage, he called for putting an appropriate SCO agreement into effect earlier initially planned. "We need to put it into effect earlier as it would allow us to estimate the demand for automobile haulage and to draw up a clear plan for translating the idea into practice," Medvedev said. Read more