BISHKEK, August 30 (RIA Novosti) - Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers has unanimously approved a package of bills that pave the way for the country’s accession to the Customs Union and Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the press service of the Kyrgyz government announced.
“Today we are making a historic decision for our country. We have unanimously decided to adopt the whole list of bills and send the package of documents required to join the Customs Union to Zogorku Kenesh (Kyrgyz parliament),” Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Djoomart Otorbaev said.
The country’s government has “fulfilled its obligations within the framework of the roadmap to join the Customs Union almost in full,” the press service noted.
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Eurasian Economic Union (EAU) Treaty on May 29. Following the agreement, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said his country would join the Eurasian Economic Union by the end of the year.
Moscow and Bishkek have agreed to create a fund aimed at helping Kyrgyzstan integrate itself into the Customs Union. Earlier this month, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would allocate $500 million to speed up Kyrgyzstan’s integration into the Eurasian Economic Union.
The creation of the Union paves the way for a new, higher level of integration between the member countries of the Customs Union, which was formed by the three countries in 2010 and serves as the basis for the Eurasian Economic Union.
The EAU would create a single economic market of 170 million people, potentially a powerful new center of economic development.
