The negotiations, launched in November 2010, were continued in all fields, encompassing: trade in goods (industrial, agricultural and fish); sanitary and phytosanitary issues; technical barriers to trade; trade remedies; customs and origin matters; trade facilitation; intellectual property rights; services and investment; government procurement; legal issues; competition; and sustainable development.

Based on constructive talks, a substantial programme of follow-up work was agreed in view of the next full round of negotiations.

The EFTA team was led by Mr Jan Farberg, Director-General in the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry. Mr Maxim Medvedkov, Director of the Department for Trade Negotiations in the Ministry of Economic Development, headed the Russian delegation and acted as spokesperson for Customs Union matters. Mr Aleksandr Guryanov, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the head of the Belarusian delegation, while Ms Zharkin Kakimzhanova, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan in Geneva, led the Kazakh side.

In 2010, the three countries forming the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union were EFTA’s sixth most important export destination and fourth largest import source outside the European Union, with total merchandise trade amounting to USD 8.5 billion. Trade in services as well as foreign direct investments are also significant between both sides.