Updated 5:21 p.m. Moscow Time
MINSK, October 9 (RIA Novosti) – The upper chamber of the Belarusian parliament voted unanimously Thursday to pass a bill on ratification of the Eurasian Economic Union treaty.
The lower chamber approved the bill earlier in the day.
Earlier on Thursday, Kazakhstan's upper house of parliament also ratified the treaty. The document is to be signed by President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to ratify the treaty.
The union is aimed at increasing economic cooperation among its three member countries. Under the treaty, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agree to guarantee the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor, and to implement a coordinated policy in the energy, industrial, agricultural and transport sectors.
The agreement is based on the provisions of the contractual legal framework of the Customs Union and Common Economic Space that were improved to comply with World Trade Organization rules.
