EAEU, India To Negotiate Free Trade Zone Creation In 2021

Trade & Policy

EAEU, India To Negotiate Free Trade Zone Creation In 2021

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) may negotiate the creation of a free trade zone with India in the first half of 2021, Deputy Director of the EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission) Trade Policy Department Mikhail Cherekaev said. "The decision to begin the negotiations was taken back in 2016. However, we have not started a substantive discussion of the content of the agreement with the Indian side thus far. We plan to hold a round of talks in the first half of next year," he said. In 2019, trade turnover between EAEU member-states and India amounted to US$ 13.8 billion, whereas in the first nine months of 2020 it reached US$ 9 billion. Russia is India’s biggest trade partner among EAEU nations. Indian Ambassador to Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma said earlier that the creation of a free trade zone between India and EAEU will allow boosting trade turnover to US$ 15 billion. The Eurasian Economic Union has already entered into free trade zone agreements with Vietnam and Singapore, as well as a temporary agreement with Iran. The talks on free trade zones are underway with Egypt, Israel, and Argentina.