The Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment was signed in Sochi on 8 June 2023 by the governments of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in a single original in Russian. Depositary: the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which transmits a certified copy to each signatory. It is not the 2011 CIS free-trade treaty for goods. The preamble invokes that treaty, the 1994 GATS, including Article V, and seeks liberalisation of mutual trade in services and conditions for investment.

Chapters I–IV, at framework level: domestic regulation, recognition, transparency, cross-border trade in services, establishment and activity, investment. Individual lists of commitments and exceptions sit in annexes. Article 37: the provisions do not apply between parties that have between them treaties providing a deeper level of integration. A services schedule, an ISDS protocol or a licensing guide is not set out here.

Article 44: it enters into force 30 days after the depositary receives the third notification that domestic procedures have been completed; for other parties, likewise 30 days after their documents. It entered into force for Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on 5 June 2024, and for Russia on 24 July 2024. Article 45: after entry into force it is open to accession by any state, with distinct rules for CIS members and for non-CIS states. Article 46: concluded for an indefinite term; withdrawal by written notice at least 12 months in advance.

For the Russian Federation, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed; the Russian depositary records publication in the Bulletin of International Treaties No. 10/2024. The agreement does not regulate relations with third countries and does not preclude other treaties. It is not a military alliance and not GATS itself.

Cover: Sochi sea terminal, city of the ceremony; we do not claim the hall. Wikimedia Commons, free licence.

Sources consulted: CIS Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment; Соглашение о свободной торговле услугами (CIS Executive Committee).