Armenia expects benefits from free trade zone in CIS

The CIS free trade zone will boost Armenia’s economic development, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said on Thursday, News Armenia reports.

The CIS free trade zone document was signed at the Council of CIS heads on Tuesday. It simplifies the legal basis for trade-economic relations and replaces about 100 bilateral deals on free trade.

Sargsyan says that no a single side can unilaterally set limitations for economic entities. The deal is based on the WTO principles and includes gradual lift of trade limitations. The number of limitations for Armenia dropped by 600.

The prime minister reminded that the document is of historic concern for Armenia. Its specialists were working on it since 1993. Work reactivated 2.5 years ago. Problems occurred with ratification at the Russian Parliament.

The document was signed by all CIS states, except Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, that, according to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, may joint it by the end of 2011.