The announcement was issued by the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the cabinet’s official website.

The implementation of the agreement will help increase mutual trade and the development of trade and economic relations between signatories. Furthermore, it will connect the EAEC to the integration processes currently underway in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian government stressed in its statement.

The draft agreement provides for the tariff liberalisation of trade in goods between the members of the EAEC and Vietnam by reducing or eliminating the majority of import duties. However, as part of this agreement, the ratifying parties will be able to retain tariff protection measures for some of the most sensitive commodity items, the report added.

This is Russia’s first preferential trade agreement on tax exemption and reduction for particular goods for Asian Pacific countries.

The EAEU is an economic union, including Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Armenia.