MINSK, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko sent a congratulatory message to leaders of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states on Wednesday, congratulating the EAEU on its 10th anniversary.
"For ten years of its existence, the EAEU has convincingly proved its relevance and efficiency," Lukashenko said in his message.
The EAEU is an important regional integration association that ensures close economic interaction between member states on the basis of equality and partnership and jointly responds to external challenges, he said.
The Minsk-based EAEU Court also held a plenary meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the EAEU. The meeting summarized the court's 85 cases in the past ten years, using law to support the free flow of goods, services, capital and labor between participating countries and promote coordinated economic policies.
Over the years since its inception, trade between EAEU member states has almost doubled and their aggregate GDP has grown from 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars to 2.5 trillion dollars, and more than 90 percent of the settlements are conducted in local currencies, media reports quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying early this month.
On May 29, 2014, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan signed the Treaty on the EAEU. The EAEU was officially launched on Jan. 1, 2015, and its current member states include Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. ■
