A joint statement on a unitary economic space

Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine have signed a joint statement on a unitary economic space, the press service of the president of RF informs.

The document says the following: "We, heads of States of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine, to assist an economic and social progress of our peoples and an increase of their life level, on the basis of stable development principles, taking into consideration that coherent economic reforms in our countries created conditions for a further improvement of a multilateral economic cooperation and to strengthen the integration processes, furthering the provisions of the Agreement on a free trade area as of 15 April, 1994, confirming the agreements, developed at the CIS summits in Kishinev and Kiev, as well as their resolution on the creation of a Unitary Economic Space, declare a new phase of the integration and we start negotiations about the measures, necessary to create a Unitary economic space".

As a result by September, 2003, an Agreement on a Unitary economic space, a concerted economic policy in a number of areas, an harmonisation of an appropriate legislation and an establishment of a unitary independent inter-State regulating commission for the trade and tariffs will be prepared.

The statement stresses that the final target of the work is an establishment of a Regional Integration Organisation. For this the parties will establish a high rank joint group and approve their mandate.

According to the press service, president of Russia Vladimir Putin said that the centre of the high rank joint group activities will be in Kiev and it will be headed by a high representative of Kazakhstan.

"Of course, we are open for a work with other CIS countries, as this statement is open for any interested countries wishing to join", - V.Putin also observed.

The head of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma stressed that the presidents were going to come to a unitary economic space by means of an establishment of a free trade area.

The president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko observed that by the beginning of the next year a full freedom of the commodity movement between four countries had to be achieved.

The head of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev noted that it was not an alternative to CIS or any other unions. "I would like to hope that it is a completely new breakthrough in our relations, if we want a real trade. The point is in tariffs and trade", - N.Nazarbaev said.