Lag in E-Commerce Development May Damage EAEU Competitiveness

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the sphere of digital economy has significantly developed in recent years and the lag of EAEU in the global electronic commerce may negatively affect the competitiveness of its member states.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The sphere of digital economy has significantly developed in recent years and the lag of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in the global electronic commerce may negatively affect the competitiveness of its member states, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday.

"The creation of the united EAEU digital space is seen as a number one task in the short-term perspective…. The digital economy has widely spread in recent years, first and foremost in such countries as China and the United States. The lag of the EAEU in the sphere of global electronic commerce and cross-industry digital platforms may affect our competitiveness on both external and internal markets of the union," Putin said opening the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

According to Putin, it is necessary to assist EAEU members states' enterprises in development of the industrial cooperation and include small and medium business into production and technological chains.

Functioning since 2015, the Eurasian Economic Union is a Russia-initiated regional political and economic bloc that aims to streamline the flow of goods and services between Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia.