Opinions & Interviews

DUSHANBE, 1 June (BelTA) – We need to accelerate the work on the CIS agreement on free trade in services, Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said at a meeting of the CIS Heads of Government Council on 1 June, BelTA has learned.

“Belarus welcomes the fact that the work in the area has moved forward. However, a lot still needs to be done,” Andrei Kobyakov said.

The area for the application of the agreement needs to be expanded to cover direct service providers, and related investments.

There is a need to resolve certain aspects in connection with the participation of CIS countries in various integration associations and organizations such as the EAEU and the WTO where certain agreements have been reached to liberalize the market of services. Belarus is in favor of extending the scope of application of the CIS agreement on free trade in services, Andrei Kobyakov noted.

Belarus calls to extend the free trade zone to e-commerce. First of all, the matter is about building a barrier-free information and communication infrastructure, ensuring technological compatibility and creating a flexible legal framework to coordinate cooperation between the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

According to the prime minister, no less important is the harmonization of rules and procedures governing public procurement. Despite the fact that the CIS and the EAEU have adopted relevant documents, in practice there are problems with access to markets, the prime minister said.