Nazarbayev: "our key task" is to prove Eurasian Economic Union viability to whole world
ASTANA. May 29 (Interfax) - The Eurasian Economic Union may encounter different sorts of challenges in the future, and the "troika" of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus will have to tackle all possible crises through joint efforts, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has said.
"A new geo-economic reality of the 21st century is being born today. We had to work very hard to create it. And we are now heading into a difficult stage of formation and development. But [the Eurasian Economic Union] already exists. It is a hard-won achievement. And, having created it, our key task today is to prove to ourselves and the rest of the world that this integration is relevant and viable. Integration alone does not guarantee an ideal life. It is not a godsend. Each of our states will have to continue to work hard," he said in Astana on Thursday, after Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus signed the Eurasian Economic Union Treaty.
"New challenges and tasks will emerge. Our economic growth may slow down, and the pace of our mutual trade development may be different from what it is today (...) But the only reaction all this may provoke is our aspiration to move forward. We should be prepared to jointly tackle any issues and resolve all crises by joint efforts," the Kazakh president said.
The presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin, Alexander Lukashenko and Nursultan Nazarbayev, signed a treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Union, an Interfax correspondent reported from the signing ceremony.
