ASEAN and the EEU: close to free trade zone?
ASEAN and EEU member countries are estimated to have a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion and a combined population of over 700 million. On August 5, Russian media outlets quoted Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexei Ulyukayev as saying that an agreement had been reached at the ministerial level to conduct a feasibility study on a free trade zone between the EEU and ASEAN, and that this could become a reality as early as within three years. His remarks came after a meeting with his Southeast Asian counterparts.
