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On 31 January 2014, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) announced that it pursued its talks with the member states of the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan from 27 to 30 January 2014 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Member States of EFTA are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The announcement stated:
At the round, delegations focused on issues related to trade in goods, including customs and origin as well as sanitary and phytosanitary matters. Further areas covered by expert groups were: intellectual property rights; government procurement; competition; sustainable development; and institutional and horizontal questions.
The EFTA team was headed by Mr Jan Farberg, Director General at the Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, while Ms Ekaterina Mayorova, Deputy Director at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, led the delegations of the customs union states.
The two sides agreed to continue their negotiation process with dedicated expert meetings and a next full round scheduled to take place in April 2014.
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