APR News

Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission Tatyana Valovaya, on the initiative of the German party, met with the Special Representative of the Federal Government of Germany for the OSCE Chairmanship, the Deputy of German Bundestag, the Coordinator of Intersocietal Cooperation with Russia, Central Asia and the countries of the Eastern partnership, Gernot Erler on June 23, 2016.

The Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission held a session chaired by the Chairman of the EEC Board Tigran Sargsyan where attendees addressed a number of issues in the area of trade and customs cooperation. The session was held on June 21, 2016.
In particular, the Eurasian Economic Commission established the tariff quota volumes for imports of long-grain rice from Vietnam to the Member States of the Eurasian Economic Union (the EAEU) in 2016. The Free Trade Agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam, which is expected to come into force in the coming months, once all the countries of the Union complete ratification procedures, provides for a tariff quota for imports of this kind of rice from Vietnam to the EAEU at a zero rate of import duty in the volume of 10,000 tonnes per year.

Member of the Board - Minister in charge of Customs Cooperation the Eurasian Economic Commission Mukai Kadyrkulov discussed formats of cooperation with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Kunio Mikuriya in Brussels (Belgium) on June 17, 2016.
During the meeting, the Parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Eurasian Economic Commission and the World Customs Organization. In this regard, Mukai Kadyrkulov and Kunio Mikuriya reviewed the perspectives and forms of cooperation, including the sharing of open information and documents of mutual interest; the participation of the representatives of the EEC and WCO in the activities carried out by the Commission and WCO; and the arrangement of joint meetings, consultations, scientific and practical seminars and conferences on topical issues of customs administration.

Under the theme “Urbanization and Inclusive Growth,” representatives including over 200 ministers, mayors, entrepreneurs and scholars from APEC member economies held policy dialogues and shared experience and information on developing urban infrastructure, advancing innovative city development, strengthening connectivity and improving city governance with a view to achieving people-oriented urbanization and inclusive growth.

The main aim of the seminar was to discuss practical aspects of cooperation with Indian partners.
Opening the seminar Dr. Marina Larionova, Vice President for International Relations of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP); Head of the CIIR emphasized that despite a significant Russia-India trade and economic relationships potential the level of current cooperation is not commensurate with the opportunities and level of political dialogue. Hence events which contribute to consolidation of a dialogue between businesses and better understanding of market trends of both countries should be regular.

Trade Ministers from the APEC member economies issued a statement following their meeting in Arequipa on Wednesday on liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment to regain economic momentum and achieve their goals of prosperity for the region’s people.
The statement describes joint actions to be taken forward by APEC economies in the following priority areas:
• Enhancing Regional Economic Integration Agenda
• Promoting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Internationalization
• Developing Human Capital
• Strengthening Economic and Technical Cooperation
Press-release at the official APEC web-site
Full statement

In the statement adopted at the meeting the finance ministers emphasized that the ASEAN+3 region is expected to maintain a relatively high growth rate and continue to serve as a major engine of global growth, in view of the continued structural reforms and effective implementation of macroeconomic policies in the region.
The participants committed to strengthen regional financial cooperation and welcomed the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) efforts to enhance its surveillance capacity.
Full statement at the ASEAN official web-site

Singapore and China co-chaired the 11th ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (SOM-DOC) and the 22nd ASEAN-China Senior Officials’ Consultations were held on April 28-29, 2016. This is the first meeting that Singapore is hosting since taking over the ASEAN-China dialogue coordinatorship from Thailand in August last year.
As this year marks the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations, ASEAN member-states and China have agreed to jointly hold a series of activities to commemorate this milestone. This includes the exchange of congratulatory messages between the Leaders and Foreign Ministers of China and ASEAN Chair Lao PDR, commemorative receptions in Jakarta and Beijing, cultural performances, youth exchange visits and entrepreneur forums.
The celebrations will culminate in a Commemorative Summit to be held back-to-back with the ASEAN Summit this September in Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Both sides discussed ways to strengthen this partnership, including through the effective implementation of the ASEAN-China Plan of Action (2016-2020) that was endorsed by the Leaders at the 18th ASEAN-China Summit in November 2015. Both sides also identified potential opportunities and challenges that could arise in the course of the relations.
In the face of these challenges, ASEAN and China explored the broadening and deepening of cooperation in a number of areas, such as trade and non-traditional security issues.
Press-release at the official ASEAN web-site

Overall growth in ASEAN countries will average 4.7 percent in this year and 5 percent in 2017. Indonesia is projected to grow at 4.9 percent in 2016 and 5.3 percent in 2017. Growth in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam is expected to remain robust because of resilient domestic demand. Thailand's growth rate will continue to be below its potential, but it will pick up modestly, driven by public spending.
Information at the IMF official web-site

Vladimir Putin submitted to the State Duma for ratification the Protocol Amending the Protocol to the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on Delimiting the Northern Part of the Caspian Seabed in order to Exercise Sovereign Rights to Subsoil Use of July 6, 1998, signed in Astana on October 15, 2015.
Currently, the countries exercising sovereign rights to subsoil use can conclude production-sharing agreements in accordance with their respective laws.
Russian Federation law, however, does not fully reflect the specific circumstances of developing hydrocarbon resources in the northern part of the Caspian Sea, and this prevents Russia from carrying out such activity with maximum benefit and could in the future lead to a decrease in revenue for Russia.
To this end, the Protocol defines the specific circumstances for developing hydrocarbon resources in the Tsentralnaya field, based on both countries’ interest in the joint development of this field’s hydrocarbon resources.
Information at the official web-site of the President of the Russian Federation