EDB and ADB to jointly finance infrastructure projects in their member states

Almaty, 6 May 2013. On Friday, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), as the Resources Manager of the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a framework agreement on the joint financing of investment projects. The document was signed during the Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors, which took place from 2 to 5 May in Delhi, India. The EDB delegation headed by Sergei Shatalov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board, took part in this meeting.

The agreement envisages the provision of joint finance for projects in the countries that are members of both EDB and the ADB — Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The document sets the approximate volume of possible co-financing for the coming three years: up to US $715 million on the part of the ACF and up to $1.2 billion on the part of the ADB.

This agreement is a framework arrangement and not a commitment to finance certain projects. Decisions to engage in projects and provide finance will be made based on the internal procedures of the ACF and ADB. According to the agreement, the parties will propose each other projects for co-financing and the ADB will ensure their pre-investment preparation.

«In the agreement signed EDB acts as the ACF Resources Manager, since it envisages, in the first place, the co-financing of long-term infrastructure projects in low-income countries which need „long money“ with a high level of preferential terms,» says Sergei Shatalov. Among joint projects that are close to fulfilment, he mentioned the participation of EDB and the ADB in the reconstruction of the Bishkek-Osh highway in Kyrgyzstan — the most important route that links the northern and southern parts of the country — and the construction of a motor road corridor in Armenia, which will include the country’s southern mountainous regions in the national transport network. According to the preliminary applications received for these projects from the ministries of finance of Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, the ACF’s participation in these initiatives can reach US $50 and $100 million respectively.

In addition, EDB is considering a possibility of the joint participation with the ADB in projects concerning energy and small and mid-sized enterprises.

Additional Information

Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital exceeds US $1.5 billion. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan. Read more at https://www.eabr.org

The EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF) amounting to US $8.513 billion was formed on 9 June 2009 by the governments of the same six countries. ACF’s objectives are to assist its member countries in overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis, to ensure their economic and financial stability, and to foster integration processes in the region. ACF member countries signed the Management Agreement with Eurasian Development Bank, giving it the role of the ACF Resources Manager.