EDB to Finance Inter-State Investment Projects of EurAsEC in the Framework of Anti-crisis Fund
02.06.2009
The Inter-state Council of EurAsEC resolved that its newly created Anti-crisis Fund will be managed jointly by the Fund’s Council and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The Fund’s Council will comprise the ministers of finance of the member states, and the Fund’s resources will total an equivalent of $10 billion. In addition, the EDB will be entitled to extend loans to inter- state projects using the Fund’s resources.
Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Executive Board, said that “for the national economies of EurAsEC, creation of such a Fund is an effective and timely measure to respond to the global financial crisis. Since its operations are concentrated in Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the EDB is in a position to collect comprehensive knowledge of the region’s countries, and the common business trends existing in these countries. This, in turn, ensures the high quality of the Bank’s investment decisions. Moreover, the EDB is the only development bank in the region tailored for assisting integration. That is why we are ready to offer our experience and infrastructure for managing the resources of the EurAsEC Anti-crisis Fund”.
At present, the EDB’s member states are Russia and Kazakhstan. Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan applied for joining the Bank, and their applications were approved by the Bank’s Council in December 2008. Kyrgyzstan is finalizing the procedures required for making an official application for EDB membership.
At the end of October 2007, the EDB organized a three-day roundtable in Almaty dedicated to the prospects, trends and mechanisms of regional integration among the EurAsEC countries. The roundtable brought together 50 participants from five countries.
