Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived in St. Petersburg on Thursday evening for heads of government meetings of the Kazakhstan-Russia-Belarus Customs Union and EurAsEC on Friday.
A range of international agreements on cooperation between the countries is planned to be signed, the Russian government reported on Thursday.
"Active work on developing a legal framework for the Customs Union continues," it said in a statement.
This year Russia chairs the Eurasian Economic Community, which comprises Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. EurAsEC's intergovernmental council doubles as the supreme authority for the Customs Union.
The heads of governments plan to authorize an intergovernmental program on innovative biotechnologies that is expected to contribute to robust growth in economic efficiency and living standards in the post-soviet countries.
The Customs Union started work on January 1 with the introduction of a unified customs tariff. The Customs Code is due to come into effect on July 1 and Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus plan to form a common economic space in January 2012.
Russia estimates the customs union will boost economic growth in the three ex-Soviet countries, increasing their GDP by 14-15% by 2015.
MOSCOW, May 20 (RIA Novosti)
