Russian PM Mishustin to discuss development of transport corridors and cargo transit with EAEU partners - Reshetnikov
ALMATY. Feb 1 (Interfax) - Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will discuss issues related to the development of transport corridors and cargo transit during talks in Kazakhstan on February 1-2, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov told reporters.
Mishustin arrived in Kazakhstan on Thursday, where he will hold bilateral meetings with the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan - Head of the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan, Akylbek Zhaparov and with Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov. He will also participate in a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and speak at the plenary meeting of the Digital Almaty 2024 International Digital Forum.
"In a separate meeting block during the two days, transport corridors will be discussed; the expansion in number of our integration projects. This will also concern the eastern "North-South" line, that is, which runs through the territories of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to Iran. We will also discuss issues regarding the development of existing railway lines on the territories of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, whose connection can access China, also an important route for us, for both our exports and imports. These are, of course, transit-related issues, because the redistribution of cargo is quite intensive and our colleagues' transport infrastructures cannot always fully handle our needs, just as our colleagues have some requests regarding our own transport infrastructure," Reshetnikov said.
The minister noted that the ongoing joint work within the EAEU framework is an important locomotive that moves the Russian economy forward, because a significant part of Russian economic growth is related to foreign trade, cooperation and the transit of goods.
"We are summing up the results of the Russian Federation's Eurasian Economic Union presidency and what should be noted about it here. Firstly, we have sustainable economic growth; we have about 3.5% overall economic growth. We have a steady increase in mutual trade turnover, and the share of our mutual trade turnover in foreign exchanges is growing as well. We have an increase in investment, we have an increase in industrial production, and we have an increase in the number of mutual projects, industrial projects, and cooperation projects. You know that last year this was one of the priorities of the Russian Federation's EAEU presidency," Reshetnikov said.