Armenia implemented 70% of the activities stipulated by the Customs Union accession roadmap, a presidential statement said.

According to the address of Armenian leader Serzh Sargsyan to participants of the Armenia-CU conference, close cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission and relevant structures in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan promoted progress in Armenia’s accession activities, to be followed by signing of an international legal deal, Novosti-Armenia reported.

In his address, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev welcomed the already perceptible success that the Customs Union and Unified Economic Space members achieved in their work. He also hailed Armenia’s progress in implementation of the CU accession roadmap, according to Armenia Today.

He further noted a stable global tendency for regional integration projects to facilitate economic growth and secure investments, expressing hope for the integration to strengthen Armenian-Russian ties.

At the conference, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan outlined challenges of Armenia’s CU accession, Armenia Today reported.

“Armenia is a member of the World Trade Organization, with customs fees instituted in the WTO space thrice as low as those in the CU area. This means that the CU accession will negatively affect business entities importing goods from third countries. On the other hand, local manufacturers might benefit from the step, in having their rights protected and investments boosted. .

As he further noted, the expected increase in customs fees might force Armenia to give preference to services and products offered by the CU states, with the difficulties that the importers of goods from third countries could face to be discussed.

According to the Prime Minister, by joining WTO, Armenia assumed certain obligations which should be revised in the light of its CU accession and change in customs fees, with the negotiations to be launched on the subject, Armenia Today reported.