The heads of government of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan hold a joint news conference

Vladimir Putin's address:
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we have had informative, productive meetings. There was a meeting of the Council of CIS Heads of Government and sessions of the EurAsEC Interstate Council and the Customs Union's governing body.
Together we looked into issues related to the development of our multilateral trade and economic conditions as well as scientific and technological cooperation. We also discussed the implementation of a number of large-scale joint projects.
All in all, the dynamics of trade relations in the CIS are encouraging. From January to August of this year the trade turnover between the CIS countries exceeded $120 billion, which is 30% more than in the same period last year. It is now important to maintain this momentum and take advantage of all available resources.
This is what the new agreement on a free trade zone in the CIS is intended for. It will be based on the regulations of the World Trade Organisation, and it will replace the obsolete 1994 agreement. It will become a firm legal basis for the promotion of business partnership in the CIS. We have agreed to finish the work on this agreement by the end of this year.
We have managed to make significant progress in other areas, too. The Agreement on Cooperation in the Protection of Intellectual Property was signed at the meeting. We are planning to closely coordinate our efforts in this important area and provide each other with legal assistance, thus creating a civilised environment for the development of innovative business and for the implementation of research, information and creative projects.
In connection with this, I would like to bring up the idea to open exhibition halls for CIS countries at the Russian Exhibition Centre in Moscow. Corresponding agreements have already been signed with Belarus and Kyrgyzstan and we are negotiating this with other partners. Almost all of our partners expressed interest in this project.
I believe that these will be popular venues for directly establishing business, cultural and scientific ties. It is also important that we are reviving this old, and good, tradition and that many visitors to the exhibition halls in Moscow will be able to learn more about their neighbours' contemporary ways of life, their achievements and plans in the economy and culture.
During the EurAsEC meetings we focused on the organisation's development priorities. We discussed the action plan for the period from 2011 through 2013. The implementation of this plan will have a positive impact on the integration of former countries of the Soviet Union. We are very close to creating the EurAsEC court, which I consider especially important. This will be a specialised body to settle disputes in the organisation, available for economic entities, including those from third countries.
The establishment of this legal mechanism will certainly contribute to the stable and sustainable development of trade and economic relations within the CIS and improve the investment and business competitiveness of our national markets.
At the meeting of the Customs Union's governing body we focused on the further development of the union. We considered a package of agreements regulating the application of standards for sanitary supervision and of anti-dumping measures in trade. Hopefully, I speak for everyone when I say that these measures should not create barriers for trade relations between our three countries.
Naturally, our key priority is the launch of the common economic space between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It should begin working in full no later than 2012.
Our ministries and government bodies currently carry out large-scale preparations. They are coordinating their positions almost daily and are searching for mutually acceptable solutions. I would like to point out that they have made significant, concrete progress. The main thing is that our common interests are clear in achieving these goals.
Honestly, if someone had told me two years ago that we would be at the point we are at now I would have hardly believed it because this work involves such sensitive issues for our economies. Nevertheless, we are reaching agreements.
I would like to emphasise that there are projects with different forms of participation for member countries and varying degrees of depth of integration in the CIS. I think that this is a strong advantage of the commonwealth and evidence of the fact that our countries are truly interested in close cooperation. And it will determine the particulars of their participation in the integration processes, depending on their national interests.
I would also like to stress that all three of today's events were held in a professional and productive atmosphere. And most importantly, they all yielded positive practical results.
Thank you for your attention.
http://premier.gov.ru/eng/events/news/12997/