MINSK, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A two-day meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council kicked off in Belarus on Monday, with the theme of "Food Security in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)."
"This topic was chosen for a reason: food security is top priority for the modern world. This is a matter of social stability and, without exaggeration, the very existence of any nation and state," Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said at the plenary session, according to the BelTA news agency.
EAEU member states need to mount a joint response to challenges in the field of food security, Golovchenko said.
Speaking at the meeting, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin expressed confidence in the EAEU and Russia's food production.
According to Mishustin, the EAEU has more than 93 percent of its own agricultural product supply, and in the 10 years since the establishment of the EAEU, agricultural production in the union has increased by more than 25 percent.
He called on the union to maintain consistency in increasing food production, stressing that the development potential of the union will be able to ensure the food supply of 600 million people in the world.
Mishustin noted that the EAEU should strengthen logistics and transportation construction, reduce grain transportation costs, and develop grain markets in China, Uzbekistan and India.
With regard to a regulation the European Union adopted on May 30 that introduces prohibitive tariffs on grain products imported from Russia and Belarus, Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said Russia will find alternative markets for its agricultural products. ■