India is going to sign a free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to boost trade and economic ties with the region. The announcement was made by Amit Telang, First Secretary of India’s embassy in Russia and he said “We are definitely signing this agreement”. The agreement will be signed at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2015).

Apart from India, Vietnam, Iran, Egypt and Israel are also negotiating the possibility of forming free trade agreement with the EAEU. India is keen to invest in Russia’s coal and hydrocarbon projects.

The EAEU, with a GDP of USD 2.2 trillion last year, is aimed at economic development of the member states by coordinating their economic policy and guaranteeing free movement of goods, services, capital and workforce. The union had an industrial production USD 1.3 trillion last year.

Eurasian Economic Union

• The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU) is an economic union of states located primarily in northern Eurasia.
• EAEU is an international organisation for regional economic integration.
• The member states of the union, which started operation on January 1′ 2015 are Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia.
• The Eurasian Economic Union has an integrated single market of 176 million people and a gross domestic product of over 4 trillion U.S. dollars.
• Viktor Borisovich Khristenko is the current chairman of Eurasian Union.