The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and the Tunisian government have agreed to set up a working group to explore the feasibility of concluding a free trade agreement, the EEC trade department reported following a meeting between EEC Trade Minister Andrei Slepnev and Tunisian Trade and Export Development Minister Samir Abid.
“The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) attaches a lot of significance to developing mutually beneficial relations with Africa and sees good prospects in expanding the number of regional countries with which preferential trade regimes are applied. We view the Republic of Tunisia as a priority partner, attaching special importance to broadening trade and economic cooperation between our states,” it said.
“Based on the meeting’s outcomes, the parties agreed to initiate the process of putting together a joint research team to study the feasibility of concluding a free trade agreement between the EAEU and Tunisia,” it said.
Among African countries, the EAEU is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with Egypt, having conducted six negotiating rounds on the matter, the EEC said.
The Eurasian Economic Union consists of five member states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.
TunisianMonitorOnline (NejiMed)
