Regional Trade Agreements in the ECE

THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF MEMBER STATES OF SCO WILL TAKE PLACE IN RUSSIA

Russian Federation will lead the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2008-2009. The most important event will be the meeting of the Council of Member States of SCO in Yekaterinburg in 2009. The successful result of the work of this Council will depend on the effective organization of this event. For successful solution of this task the coordinate actions of different organs of Russian government with the representatives of the public officials and business structures of the federal and regional levels are required.

EURASEC DEVELOPS 30 NEW DOCUMENTS ON BELARUS-RUSSIA-KAZAKHSTAN-CUSTOM UNION

The EurAsEC experts have been developing 30 new documents on setting up the Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, Yevgeny Vorsin, the Deputy General Secretary of the Eurasian Economic Community, told reporters after a session of the EurAsEC Integration Committee in Moscow on 23 April. According to him, these documents will help complete the formation of the Customs Union by 2010. The session considered nearly 30 issues of economic cooperation. The participants discussed draft agreements on the common approaches to apply IT in the EurAsEC customs surveillance, on common principles of information interaction between the EurAsEC customs services.

BELARUS AND RUSSIA DEVELOP TAX SYSTEMS

In order to create equal conditions for economic players on the territory of Belarus and Russia and promote efficient functioning of common free market zone, in 1999 the parties signed a corresponding agreement, the Tax Code of the Union State, which make provisions for the unification of tax legislation. At present the experts of the two countries are continuing to work on implementation of these provisions, but at the same time they have to take into account the level of integration into common free market zone as well as specific character of national economies.

GENEVA MEETING PLEDGES MAJOR PROGRESS ON REVITALIZING SILK ROAD

A UN-sponsored meeting of 19 Asian and European countries has pledged to prioritize infrastructure projects worth $43 billion to revitalize the ancient Silk Road joining the two continents. The Silk Road developed some two millennia ago as a network of trade routes traversing the landlocked countries of Central Asia from China to Europe. Now the goal is to upgrade what was once little more than a camel path to a modern infrastructure complex incorporating surfaced roads, efficient railways and waterways, and standardized customs-clearance procedures. The meeting brought together 19 countries, including Russia, China, Iran, the Central Asian republics, Bulgaria, Moldova, and Turkey. The sponsoring United Nations agencies were the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).