President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko: Mr President, as per tradition, you have the floor.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends.
Once again, welcome. Now we are meeting in the expanded format. I would like to thank everyone for responding to our invitation and coming to St Petersburg, Russia.
We have just discussed current issues fairly extensively at the restricted-format meeting. Now, we are welcoming our colleagues and friends who have joined us and who show interest in the work of the Eurasian Economic Council in various formats. I believe that it will be useful both for the Council and for the states that, once again, show interest in our cooperation.
We have stated that participation in the EAEU has yielded significant dividends, including accelerated growth of industrial output and the economy in general while also expanding possibilities for contacts between our peoples. The overall effect is fairly positive.
Of course, each state should take a closer look at all the aspects of our cooperation. This is what the EAEU Chairman will tell us about, and Belarus currently holds the chairmanship. I am happy to pass the floor to President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko.
To be continued.