Singapore, EAEU sign free trade deal

A free trade agreement (FTA) between Singapore and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was signed by their leaders in Yerevan, capital of Armenia, on October 1st.

Talking to the media after the signing that followed an EAEU summit in Yerevan, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong highlighted the FTA’s significance for his country to enter the potential market of the Eurasian union and for the deal’s members to resist protectionism.

He also repeated concerns about the growth of barriers and obstacles to the free flow of goods, noting that free trade will create competition and promote technological development.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said Singapore is the second country, after Vietnam, to sign an FTA with the EAEU, which is also working towards a similar trade pact with Iran.

The EAEU groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Vietnam inked an FTA with this bloc in May 2015./.