Kyrgyzstan joining Eurasian Economic Union on very good conditions - president

BISHKEK, December 27. /TASS/. Kyrgyzstan is joining the Eurasian Economic Union “on very good conditions”, President Almazbek Atambayev said on Saturday. “We are entering the Union on very good conditions. Totally, $300 million are provided to develop the border, set up customs points and create present-day laboratories for products certification. Russia will provide $200 million and Kazakhstan will allocate $100 million. The funding spending will be controlled by three parties, including by Russia and by our side,” he said. “The [Russian-Kyrgyz] development fund with the capital of $1 billion is being created,” Atambayev said. Kyrgyzstan succeeded in achieving good preferences. The customs duties collected by the member-states will go to a common Eurasian fund in which each country has its share. Armenia will have 1.9 percent while Belarus has 4 percent and Armenia 1.13 percent, he said. “Our purpose is to develop the normal economy based on service, production and the agrarian sector,” Atambayev said. “Based on such resources the government should create jobs and exert effort to develop the economy,” he said. The World Bank experts “excluded Kyrgyzstan out of the list of poor states and included in a category of middle-income countries”, Atambayev said, adding “I believe that we did much in 2014. We have a clear vision. We knew and we know where to move and what to do.” He also said he supported the parliamentary system. “The parliamentary system has many nuances. But we chose a right direction. In the future the president’s power should be reduced,” he said. Atambayev said he was not going “to be president upon completion of my term. I won’t prepare a successor. The presidential elections will be held in 2.5 years. People themselves should elect a president”. At present, twenty-four projects at the size of over $7 billion are being implemented, he said. The Eurasian Economic Union includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Armenia will join them on January 2. Kyrgyzstan is planning to enter the Union in May. The Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union was signed by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014 in Astana. The treaty is the basic document defining the accords between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan for creating the Eurasian Economic Union for the free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce and conducting coordinated, agreed or common policies in key sectors of the economy, such as energy, industry, agriculture and transport. The treaty stipulates the transition of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the next stage of integration after the Customs Union and the common economic space. Read more