On August 12, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia hosted another meeting on the implementation of the Program for the Formation of a Common Social and Economic Space between Russia and the de facto Republic of Abkhazia. The Co-Chairs of the working group are de facto Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Economy, Kristina Ozgan, and the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia, Dmitry Volvach.
As a result of a November 12, 2020 meeting between the President of Russia and the de facto President of Abkhazia, the Program for the Formation of a Common Social and Economic Space between Russia and Abkhazia was approved for the harmonization of Abkhazian legislation with Russian one. The purpose of the program is to create favorable conditions for Russian private investors and integration processes initiated or supported by Russia in Abkhazia.
Currently, harmonization of "legislation" is underway in the following areas: citizens' social security, pension security, education, health care, tax and customs regulation, investment and banking sector work.
The implementation of the program should be completed in 2025. According to the de facto Ministry, the work on the measures to be implemented in the first stage is basically completed. A total of five events were completed in 2024. A fourth part was added to the so-called Civil Code of the de facto republic, which provides for the regulation of intellectual property and a „law“ on social services for citizens was adopted. In addition, as part of the program, Russia and the de facto government signed an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.