New Zealand and Russia Agree to Commence Preparatory Process Towards a Free Trade Agreement

Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Elvira Nabiullina and Minister of Trade of New Zealand Hon Tim Groser met today in Moscow and agreed that New Zealand and Russia, joined by its partners under the Customs Union, Kazakhstan and Belarus, will commence a preparatory process towards a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by instructing officials to jointly set out the possible objectives and scope of such an Agreement.

Ministers Groser and Nabiullina agreed there were many mutual benefits for Russia and New Zealand from this initiative, and that an FTA would open doors and provide new opportunities for business people in both Russia and New Zealand and help to drive innovation and modernisation in both countries’ economies.

They agreed that officials would meet immediately to discuss the organisational and substantive details of this preparatory process.