OREANDA-NEWS. November 25, 2013. The full and intensive use of free trade regime is the main theme of cooperation within the CIS, the main competitive advantage of the CIS countries. This was started by the Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers 2013.

Mykola Azarov said that the discussion of the implementation of the Agreement on free trade among the CIS was the main purpose of the discussion. This item was included in the agenda on the initiative of Ukraine, and it was supported by all the CIS Heads of Government.

"I consider that in present extremely difficult conditions full and heavy use of free trade regime is the main theme of cooperation within the CIS, the main competitive advantage of the CIS," Mykola Azarov emphasized.

He stressed that in 2011, for the first time in the 20-year history of the CIS, which had been criticized for declarativity, un-effectiveness we could to make an agreement of a huge and practical importance – the Agreement on the FTA. And thus it was opened a new page in activity of the Commonwealth. In 2012, it enabled the Ukraine with minimal losses to go through another period of deterioration of conjuncture for our products on international markets. Instead, in 2013 there was a setback in trade and industrial cooperation, especially because of the use of artificial constraints and various complications in mutual trade.

“Ukraine has lost a quarter of trade volumes with CIS countries this year. Who needs such “scenario”? No one need. So I think our partners in the CIS have began realize that the global recession that does not end, as expected, free trade in the huge market of the CIS is a value that is above the temporal contradictions and conformist political reasons,” Mykola Azarov informed.
Mykola Azarov noted that at yesterday's meeting frank discussion was held during which problems detected by practice of implementation of the Free Trade Agreement were analyzed in detail.

“Joint opinion of heads of governments of the CIS is: despite the problems within the economic contour of the Commonwealth there are prospects and possibilities and mechanisms to support economic growth, which there are not outside of the contour. And this is natural for a large market, historically sewn by cooperation ties, differentiation of labor, specialization, even the habits and preferences of consumers about a variety of trade items,” Mykola Azarov said.

The Prime Minister expressed the hope that yesterday's meeting would be a turning to enhance the development potential that is in the Agreement on free trade, as all realized in practice and felt that in long-term losses from the global recession to build new barriers within the CIS completely wrong and unacceptable.

“Instead, we must use mechanisms to support economic growth, which in contrast to the situation on world markets we can manage,” Mykola Azarov expressed believe.