Kazakhs refuse single currency for Eurasian Economic Union

Kazakh Deputy Minister of the Economy and Budget Planning Timur Zhaksylykov said that there was not any provision regarding acceptance of a single currency in the Eurasian Economic Union agreement. "There won't be a shared currency," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had called for a common currency to be created in a summit held last month. "It is time for Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to talk about accepting a common currency in the long term," Putin said. Zhaksylykov, however, said that Kazakhstan would not accept a single currency in the bloc.

At a press conference held in service of central communications in the capital Astana, Zhaksylykov made some evaluations about the potential future of the Eurasian Economic Union and Kazakhstan's position and interests in it.

He said that effective cooperation had been achieved in many sectors, including energy, transportation, industry and agriculture, thanks to the Eurasian Economic Union, which was established by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan,.

Emphasizing that the potential industrial production volume of the bloc is $1.5 trillion, Zhaksylykov stressed that they would make procedures simple for the business climate by changing the related customs code.

He pointed out they were sure that the adaptation process in the union would bring extra momentum to the modernization and development of the Kazakh economy.

Touching upon the issue of establishing common markets within the Eurasian Economic Union, Zhaksylykov said that the issue of the gradual liberalization of the total market for electricity, natural gas, oil and petroleum products is on the union's agenda.

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan officially accepted the customs union by aligning their customs legislations and tariffs in 2010. Leaders of the three countries signed an agreement to establish the Eurasian Economic Commission in 2011 and they formed a single economic zone in 2012. A treaty that aimed to establish the union was signed on May 29, 2014, by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in Astana.