You're reading: Armenian Parliament ratifies treaty for free trade zone in CIS

Yerevan - The Armenian Parliament ratified a treaty for a special trade zone within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on Tuesday.

The creation of a free trade zone in the CIS will facilitate Armenian GDP growth, the country’s Economy Minister Tigran Davtyan told the parliament.

Armenia’s participation in this free trade zone will stimulate exports and remove restrictions imposed by customs duties, he said. The ratification of this treaty “is another integrative step in the CIS space,” Davtyan said.

This ratification will not bind Armenia to joining the Customs Union and will not limit the companies’ opportunities to sign other agreements in the future, he said.

Armenia is the fourth country to have ratified this document, following Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.

The treaty for a free trade zone in the CIS was signed on October 18, 2011 by eight countries – Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan and Ukraine.