Lebedev: Great interest in Customs Union in CIS and beyond

            There is a tremendous interest in the Customs Union development in the CIS and beyond, Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee - CIS Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev said at the 8th International Conference on Eurasian Integration organized by the Eurasian Development Bank.
“The CIS integration has been gaining momentum. The Customs Union of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan was set up and is operational. The Eurasian Economic Commission is gathering pace as well. The formation of the Single Economic Space is in progress. Hopefully the Eurasian Economic Union will be fully operational by the planned date,” Sergei Lebedev said. 
         Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have recently voiced their intensions to join the Customs Union. Non-CIS countries are also interested in the organization. “It is a natural and logical process, especially in the CIS where a model of multi-format and multi-pace cooperation was established a long time ago. This cooperation model allows interested countries to take part in more narrow regional integration projects. We are constantly looking for optimal and most efficient forms of integration,” he noted.