EaEU leaders Vladimir Putin (Russia), Nursultan Nazarbayev (Kazakhstan) and Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus) have met in Astana today and discussed intensification of trade and economic cooperation, global economy and the situation in Ukraine. Lukashenko noted that EaEU trade turnover had dropped by about 15-16% in 2014, News Kazakhstan reports.
Nazarbayev stressed the need to overcome the economic crisis by developing a common action plan. Putin spoke about the formation of a currency union.
Yevgeniy Korchevoy, the director of the WTO-Inform Analysis Center, said that a currency union was essential in the context of the impact the currency rate had on trade and economic relations, especially in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, according to the expert, a common currency is basic for a common economic and trade policy, a firm financial system of the EaEU. The analyst hailed Nazarbayev's idea to cooperate in overcoming the crisis.
Korchevoy noted that each country was taking its own measures in state regulation, subsidizing, budget planning. Russia has an anti-crisis plan signed by Prime Minister Medvedev. The expert expressed uncertainty as to whether Belarus and Kazakhstan had any similar documents.
