Kizima names demography a key issue in Eurasian integration
MINSK. February 9. KAZINFORM Demographic security is a key issue in the Eurasian integration, Head of the Department for International Policy of the Academy of Public Administration under the Auspices of the President of the Republic of Belarus, Doctor of Political Science Sergei Kizima said during a video briefing "Union State, CIS and SES: Development Prospects and Cooperation" on 8 February.
"The central problem for the Eurasian integration and, perhaps, the most serious and vulnerable issue is demographic security. It is impossible to form the biggest bloc with the population of 170 million and pin hopes that in some 30 or 40 years everything will be fine with it and its population to implement all the necessary programs," the expert said. In his words, the size of the population is important for military security as well.
Sergei Kizima stated that China which is two times smaller in size (comparing to the Troika territory) is home to nearly 1.35 billion of people. The United States, which area is also smaller than that of the future Eurasian Economic Union have a population of about 315 million, notwithstanding illegal migrants. Ukraine's human potential (46 million) is of current interest in this respect. But unfortunately the country does not join the Eurasian integration processes as it has no stimuli, the expert is confident. One of such stimuli could be lower gas prices and an opportunity to develop gas and oil deposits, for instance, in Siberia, BelTA informs.
Apart from that Sergei Kizima drew attention to the fact that Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia are conducting their own demographic programs, but population of all three countries is the only demographic resource for the Eurasian integration development. "Why isn't there a common budget for these needs to avoid the population's growth through migration only?" the expert said.