The EAEU economy has reached a pre-pandemic level, the Union’s GDP will increase by 4.1 percent by the end of 2021. The Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics Sergei Glazyev said at the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC).
He told that a positive trend is observed in mutual trade. If the trends of eight months of this year continue, the volume of foreign trade (increased by 38.5 percent) could reach $500 billion — the maximum since 2015. The volume of mutual trade (growth of 31.3 percent) could exceed $70 billion.
«In order to achieve the economic development goals approved by the heads of state, it is necessary to finance investment and innovation activities. Return of the economies to the trajectory of sustainable development should contribute to the increase and convergence of the level of economic development. Over the past 20 years, there has been a growth in GDP per capita in all five EAEU states. However, there is still a significant gap between the countries in the level of income per capita,» Sergei Glazyev said.
He noted that this gap can’t be overcome without the EAEU economy reaching the target (above the global average) growth rates. So far, the inertial scenario is being implemented, which does not involve significant breakthroughs, although all the prerequisites for advanced development in the union exist: free production capacities, labor resources, technological reserves and competences in the industries that make up the key areas of development of the new technological mode.
Sergei Glazyev particularly emphasized the need to overcome the income gap between the countries of the Union through the implementation of the Strategic Directions for the Development of Eurasian Economic Integration until 2025. In particular, in order to equalize income levels, the EEC proposed to intensify investment policy to facilitate economic growth, as well as to develop coherent goals and priorities of the convergence policy. These issues are to be discussed in early 2022 at a meeting of authorized bodies of the EAEU states.
