Eurasian Economic Union adopts declaration on further economic development

　　ST. PETERSBURG, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries adopted a declaration on further development of the union at a meeting in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on Monday, said the Kremlin.

　　During a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, heads of EAEU member states summarized the union's achievements over the past few years, discussed prospects for future cooperation and approved a declaration on the further development of economic processes within the framework of the union until 2030 and for the period until 2045.

　　They also adopted a document on the main directions of the union's international activities in 2024 and a document on the union's main macroeconomic policy guidelines from 2024 to 2025.

　　The declaration includes specific measures to step up the joint efforts in key sectors and defines additional areas of interaction, such as the climate agenda, healthcare and tourism, said Russian President Vladimir Putin at the meeting.

　　According to Putin, in the first nine months of 2023, trade between the five EAEU countries increased by 8.9 percent. Over the years since its inception, trade between EAEU member states has almost doubled and their aggregate GDP has grown from 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars to 2.5 trillion dollars.

　　Earlier in the day, the EAEU and a representative of the Iranian government signed a full-fledged free trade agreement, replacing the temporary agreement in effect since 2019. The two sides also agreed to expand cooperation in mining, education, medicine and other fields.

　　The EAEU groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Starting from Jan. 1, 2024, Armenia will take over from Russia the rotating EAEU chairmanship with a one-year tenure.