Aleksey Overchuk spoke at the event “The Homeland Is Its People. Building Greater Eurasia”

Published on: 2026-08-31

Source: Government of the Russian Federation –

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Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk spoke at a themed meeting in the series “The Motherland is its People” at the National Center “Russia.” The topic of the discussion was “Creating Greater Eurasia.”

Opening the discussion, Alexey Overchuk explained why the Government is engaged in developing integration in the Greater Eurasia space and how this relates to the lives of people in Russia. “Today’s world is interconnected, countries and economies are not isolated from each other, the global market continues to operate. Processes are underway that lead to fragmentation and the formation of macro-regions,” noted the Deputy Prime Minister. Competition is also intensifying, and the future and well-being of citizens—access to healthcare and education, the development of logistics infrastructure—largely depend on the ability to sell Russian goods in foreign markets.

The Deputy Prime Minister drew attention to the existing trend: the share of oil and gas revenues in the economy is decreasing, while the share of non-oil and gas revenues is increasing. Russia is investing in science and development, and the results are already visible. For example, the MC-21 aircraft has been created, the import-substituted “Sukhoi Superjet” has appeared, a whole range of metalworking machines exists, and advanced medical and pharmaceutical technologies are emerging.

All this requires markets for sales. “We must create demand for our goods, and for that they must be competitive,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister. “Only then can we achieve profitability and scale up production.” Domestic manufacturers need to create additional advantages so that they have the opportunity to export their products. Hence, the key role of integrations — the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, and a wide network of free trade zones. “All of this combined allows us to flexibly approach various partners and talk about opening additional opportunities for our producers,” said Alexey Overchuk.

The Deputy Prime Minister cited relations with the Republic of Belarus as a clear illustration of the interconnection of economies. Belarus inherited industrial capacities from the USSR designed for an economy of 300 million people. The Belarusian leadership managed to preserve productions, labor collectives, and competencies, and integration with Russia ensured their utilization.

The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to about 62 billion dollars by the end of 2025, and this year it could reach 70 billion. For comparison: with China, whose population approaches one and a half billion people, the trade turnover is 220–240 billion dollars, while the population of Belarus is 9.5 million people. “This indicates the level of integrational interconnectedness and degree of cooperation,” noted the vice-premier, emphasizing that such cooperation is mutually beneficial to both countries.

According to Alexey Overchuk, for industries to be competitive, high-tech, and for the production of goods with high added value, large markets and the reduction or complete removal of trade barriers, including non-tariff ones, are important. He identified the development of transport and logistic connectivity as a key area in this work — creating the best conditions for the movement of Russian goods, primarily in the eastward direction. “The processes we are developing in terms of transport and logistic connections go in unison with the objective processes existing in the world. We have, de facto, reoriented towards the East and are improving infrastructure to provide our economy with the best possible opportunities to access developing large markets,” emphasized the Deputy Prime Minister.

Among specific projects, he noted the North-South Transport Corridor: a 162 km section from Rasht to Astara is being built in Iran, which will complete the railway route from Saint Petersburg to Bandar Abbas. The decision on this was made by the presidents of Russia and Iran three years ago — today it is being implemented. The Caspian and eastern segments of the corridor are being developed in parallel. Container traffic between Russia and Iran via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan has been launched. Negotiations are underway with Pakistan on opening railway communication, as well as exploration of constructing a railway through Afghanistan. During his visit to Russia, the President of Myanmar proposed to work out a railway route through Kazakhstan and China to reach the ports of Myanmar. For the first time in a long time, railway communication with Vietnam has been restored.

As an important component, the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the development of digital services that ensure seamless movement of goods, especially at the borders. Significant funds are being invested in the modernization of checkpoints, with the efforts of the “Russian Railways” playing a major role. Work is also being carried out with partners in the EAEU and the People’s Republic of China.

Moving on to the topic of harmonizing rules and developing free trade zones, Alexey Overchuk noted that within the EAEU, about 85% of technical regulations have already been harmonized: goods produced in Russia can be delivered to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Belarus without adaptation to additional requirements and unnecessary costs. This works symmetrically for partners in the Eurasian Economic Union. The picture is complemented by agreements on investment protection and on avoiding double taxation.

Serious work is being carried out in the direction of developing new free trade zones. While agreements previously existed with Vietnam and Serbia, in 2024 and 2025 a whole series of new ones were signed, in particular with Iran, whose economy developed in isolation for more than 40 years and today has opened about 95% of its goods market to the EAEU countries. This is a market with a population of 85 million people. The next step is being discussed – convergence on non-tariff measures and technical regulation.

Negotiations for a free trade zone with India are at an advanced stage, and expert consultations with Pakistan have begun. “This is a two-way street: goods that we lack will also enter our market. This will positively affect retail prices for consumers,” explained the Deputy Prime Minister and noted that this is a complex balancing process carried out in coordination with all EAEU partners.

Speaking about cooperation in Greater Eurasia, the Deputy Prime Minister particularly emphasized the humanitarian component – the closeness of cultures, values, and a common language. “We have a common language, and this language is Russian,” said Alexey Overchuk, noting that our country is observing a growing interest in learning it in the countries of the Eurasian region.

Among the ongoing initiatives, he specifically mentioned the “Russian Teacher Abroad” program, the “Class!” project in Uzbekistan, implemented with the support of the business community, and he particularly noted the start of operations in 2026 of the International Organization for the Russian Language, established at the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Special attention is given to the creation of educational literature for the countries of the post-Soviet space and the adaptation of Russian textbooks. “Language structures thinking. Language is what books you read, what you watch, what media tools you use. Language shapes a person. It is very important for us to promote the Russian language, support and develop the education system. That is why we build schools in these countries. And the Russian education system enjoys enormous interest in the countries of the region. The competition for places in the first grades of these schools reaches about 100 people per seat,” emphasized the Vice Premier.

A network of Russian-Slavic universities is being developed, modern campuses are being created, including in the Kyrgyz Republic. Systematic work is also being carried out in the fields of culture and sports.

“This entire mosaic allows us to create a complete picture and form that very Greater Eurasia,” emphasized Alexey Overchuk, concluding his speech.

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