Eurasian Expert Club: Armenia Should Start Exporting Electricity to the EAEU

• 04.26.2018, 13:17
•  EEU,  Armenia

On April 25, a round-table discussion entitled "The Eurasian Economic Union: the results of the first three years of functioning and foreseeable prospects" was held in Yerevan initiated jointly by the research and analytical NGO "Integration and Development", the ''Noravank'' scientific and educational foundation, the Yerevan State University and the Eurasian Expert Club.

The members of the Eurasian Expert Club, lecturers and students of YSU, as well as representatives of the embassies of Kazakhstan, Belarus and the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia, participated in the round table.

The geopolitical, ideological, civilizational and economic features of the Eurasian space and the processes of Eurasian integration were discussed.

Director of "Noravank" Foundation, member of the Eurasian Expert Club Gagik Harutyunyan in his report spoke about the conceptual bases of Eurasianism, while paying special attention to the tendencies of Western fragmentation, the split between the Anglo-Saxons and continental Europeans. "More recently, the generally accepted concept of the West in the information space was associated with a single ideological, political and economic system based on the United States and the EU, but the two turning points: the UK's withdrawal from the EU and the election of Trump as president of the US significantly changed this perception," Harutyunyan said, stressing that despite political problems, even certain segments of the West retain their high competitiveness, the criterion of which is the level of scientific and technological sphere. And it is the very development of the scientific and technological sphere in the Eurasian space that must be paid most attention to.

Candidate of Political Sciences, YSU Associate Professor Grigor Balasanyan spoke about the civilizational aspect of integration processes in the Eurasian space. He stressed that the concept of Eurasian integration is understood in different ways. "In the first case, we are talking about the restoration, strengthening and development of economic ties and the joint implementation of transport, logistics, energy and other network transregional projects, in the second case, on ensuring collective security in the post-Soviet space and preventing possible internal conflicts," Balasanyan said. 

Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor Ashot Tavadyan in his turn talked about the development processes of the EAEU from the economic point of view, about the opportunities that Armenia gets in the union and how effectively these opportunities are used. Tavadyan noted that the EAEU creates significant opportunities for the growth of Armenia's economic potential. "In order to maximize the use of the opportunities that have been created, it is necessary to adjust the priorities of the economic policy, taking into account the membership in the EAEU. It is necessary to clearly define and agree on the goals, adjust the model for the development of the Armenian economy," he said, adding that the country's competitiveness was enhanced by the signing of an agreement with the Unified Energy System customs duties, simplification of all procedures: starting from issuing and obtaining export licenses to customs clearance, stabilizing the exchange rate of the Russian ruble, etc. As a priority in the future, he noted the diversification of exports.

Armen Manvelyan, candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, in turn, spoke about Armenia's opportunities in the EAEU in terms of the energy market. "The economic effect of Armenia's accession to the Union is particularly tangible in terms of the growth of exports from the country to the other member states." In 2016-2017, the annual export growth in the EAEU was about 25%, which proves the correctness of the decision of the leadership of our country. But it is also necessary to start exporting electricity to the union as well," he said. Manvelyan also noted that the creation of a common electric power market of the EAEU opens up new opportunities for exporting electricity, as well as attracting new investments in this sector, and this prospect leads to an increase in the country's competitiveness in the energy sector. In this context, he stressed the special role of creating centralized platforms for electricity trading.

The participants of the round-able discussion also turned to other peculiarities of the interaction of the Eurasian countries. The moderator of the round-table, the chairman of the NGO "Integration and Development" Aram Safaryan noted that the reports for the event had been prepared within a month, and are the result of thorough research and a unique contribution of the Armenian expert community to the development and establishment of the EAEU.