JAKARTA, October 17 (HS/RIA Novosti) - The free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Indonesia may enter into force before the end of the year, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Aleksei Gruzdev told RIA Novosti.

I can only say that most of the union's countries have already completed these procedures [ratification]. Recently, the President of Indonesia, speaking at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum, announced that he had signed a decree on ratification. So, it seems to me, it is only a matter of small things. And I want to believe that before the end of the year the agreement will enter into force, Gruzdev said.

He added that the agreement requires the passage of domestic procedures in each of the five EAEU countries.

The agreements cover a significant range of goods and provide for a mutual reduction of duties virtually to zero. This will allow Russian goods to become more competitive in the Indonesian market, and Indonesian companies to expand their presence in the EAEU market, he said.

The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Indonesia was signed on December 21, 2025, in St. Petersburg on the sidelines of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting. The document provides for a duty-free trade regime for more than 90% of the commodity nomenclature. For its entry into force, the completion of ratification procedures in Indonesia and the union's countries - Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan - is required.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar