Uzbekistan could benefit from joining the Eurasian Economic Union, this issue is now under intense discussion, the First Deputy Minister, Ilhom Nematov told RIA Novosti.
“The issue is being reviewed now. The results will then be weighed and a decision will be made,” he told RIA Novosti.
He added that he personally supported the idea of joining the EAEU.
“Uzbekistan's economy, industry, agriculture are growing. Exports are increasing. We need markets. But where are our main markets: in Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, they are the EAEU members. So frankly speaking I support Uzbekistan’s EAEU accession. Only based on its economic interests ... Another important factor is demographics. The Uzbek population is growing by 700,000 annually. And we are nowhere near in a position to create 700,000 jobs. What will this lead to? To labour migration. Where are our people going? To Russia, Kazakhstan. This factor is also an determining factor for Uzbekistan to have close ties with the EAEU. There are privileges for the member states and labour migrants. So I think we need to make a decision based on these conditions,” he said.
He said the talks on this could be completed in the near future.
“Right now, I think, the intense talks are ongoing. Recently, Siluanov's team (Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov - ed.) visited Samarkand in early December. This means that negotiations are ongoing. Maybe they will end soon. I think they will definitely end soon,” he concluded.
Earlier, Ilhom Nematov said that noone could force Uzbekistan howsoever to join the EAEU.
