Valentina Matvienko: "Eurasian integration is a natural format of cooperation for the CIS Member Nations"
18 November 2013
Integration is the call of our times said Valentina Matvienko speaking at the session of the Integration Club discussing common historical pathways as a driver of integration of the Eurasian Union. The club is a deliberative body at the Office of the Speaker of the Federation Council.
Valentina Matvienko Chairperson of the IPA CIS Council
Countries that seize up in their national shells are bound to be in isolation and eventually will find themselves among the losers. Large and influential transnational unions grounded in shared interests and values, capable to take on challenges of a global scale are the way of the future.
She went on to say that the growing Eurasian integration is a natural way forward for the CIS Member Nations. We are not simply neighbors, we are an entity bound by thoroughgoing ties of cooperation and alliance. The legacy of history is a powerful integrator. Critical awareness of this common legacy and crossing cultural traditions will be a driver of cultural consolidation across Eurasia. Integration in our region is in full swing. The Single Economic Space, Customs Union and applications by new members-to-be Armenia and Kirgizstan, - all speak towards that conclusion. It is all the more important to establish an appropriate legal framework for that integration. And this is precisely the province of the IPA CIS. The Eurasian vision is as simple as it is constructive: peace, cooperation, respect and consensus.
