Earlier this week, the heads of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan summed up the results of the work in the first year of the EAEU's existence in the Kremlin at a session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council. They defined orientations for further development of the integration union. They also discussed the development of laws and regulations, strengthening of cooperation with other unions and countries, as well as the budget of the EAEU for the next financial year.
In recent times intellectuals have supported the idea of Eurasian integration. Kirill Privalov, writer, journalist, stated at the presentation of the IQ-Club Expert Society, which aims to encourage further integration of Russia and Kazakhstan: “We grew up in the same environment and we understand each other perfectly. And now a lot depends on how politicians are aware of the need to embody the Eurasian idea in life, in practice. We have the tools. In Aktau there was a forum ‘Dostyk. Caspian Sea of Friendship', and we revived this meeting with the great poet of Kazakhstan. I remember how Olzhas Suleimenov led the meeting. The idea was born that time. And now we come to the stage of practical application.”
According to Privalov, much depends on our journalistic environment: “How well we will highlight the idea of the EAEC, and how we will reflect the implementation of these ideas. Because right now, unfortunately, we see that some politicians, to say nothing of journalists, speak out some quite absurd, unachievable ideas of the EAEC.”
Privalov said that “the Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg has enormous ties with Kazakhstan, in volumes, respectively, the trade is gigantic. We are so tied in a single garment of this, we have a huge number of topics. This is the theme of our memory, the theme of war, the theme of our common past. We have to write about this, and we should not give some pseudo-historians an opportunity to talk on these topics in order to make names for themselves and to come up with a sensation on the basis of our common past. We have an idea – the EAEC, that we should develop the humanitarian sphere, the sphere of economics and financial sphere as well, in future. Politicians, economists, journalists and intellectuals have to say their words. And a vast field is in front of us.”
