Membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) benefits Armenia’s state interest, Deputy President of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov said at a meeting with Belarusian lawmakers in Minsk.

“We should be using the opportunities that the EAEU market has to offer more efficiently,” Sharmazanov was quoted as saying.

The sides also discussed inter-regional cooperation and implementation of projects promoting social and economic development.

A trade bloc established in 2015, the EAEU was based on the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. It was later joined by Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In 2016, Vietnam officially became the first non-regional country to join the bloc. The union is designed to ensure the free movement of goods, services, capital and workers between member countries.