Russia supports the formation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), President Vladimir Putin affirmed in an article posted on the Kremlin’s website on 8 November on the threshold of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Viet Nam’s Da Nang.

President Vladimir Putin (Source: VNA)

Russia believes that the FTAAP’s establishment represents an opportunity for the country to strengthen its position in rapidly growing markets in Asia-Pacific, Putin wrote.

He noted that over the past 5 years, the share of APEC economies in Russia’s foreign trade has increased from 23 to 31%, and from 17 to 24% in exports.

According to him, the project to create the FTAAP should be “carried out with due account of the experience gained from implementing key integration formats in the Asia-Pacific region and Eurasia, including the Eurasian Economic Union, in which Russia cooperates with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan”.

This union has been developing dynamically, he affirmed, adding that it is eager to build relations with all countries and associations.

Viet Nam, the host of this year’s forum, was the first state to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union.

With the title “The 25^th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang: Together Towards Prosperity and Harmonious Development”, the Russian leader’s article also stressed the importance of effective cooperation to support innovation.

Putin suggested starting consultations within APEC on international information security and protection of computer software.

(Source: VNA)