EDB Signed Agreement on Its Presence in Armenia and Opened Its Representative Office in Yerevan
Yerevan, 27 April 2010. Armen Movsisyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia, and Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Executive Board, signed the Agreement on the Terms of the EDB’s Presence in Armenia.
This Agreement creates favorable climate for the EDB’s operation and enables it to make full use of all the immunities and privileges granted to it in Armenia which became a full EDB member in April 2009. The Bank has similar agreements with the governments of other member states: Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.
The Bank also signed a memorandum on co-operation with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia and a number of memoranda with major Armenian companies which determine the forms and directions of this co-operation, such as Armrosgazprom, the International Energy Corporation, South Caucasian Railways and Armbiznesbank.
The signing of these documents was followed by the opening ceremony of the EDB’s representative office in Yerevan. In this connection the Chairman of the EDB Executive Board held a welcome reception for members of the Armenian Government, Ministers, and business and diplomatic elite.
The Agreement on the Terms of the EDB’s Presence in Armenia and opening of the representative office in Yerevan will enable the Bank to commence its activities in Armenia and grant Armenian companies access to its long-term investment resources.
At present the EDB’s investment portfolio includes 20 projects in Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan for a total of $1.3 billion. Six more projects for a total of $780 million were approved by the Bank’s management and are awaiting completion of documentary procedures.
Since Armenia’s joining, the Bank has considered a number of prospective investment projects in that country that are in line with its mission and strategy, including, first of all, projects in energy, transport infrastructure, production and processing of minerals (complex ores), ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, agribusiness and banking.
The Bank is prepared to co-finance major investment projects in Armenia and has the necessary potential and resources to support its potential borrowers in structuring these projects. The main conditions of the EDB’s participation are the project’s economic viability, potential for development, modernization and enhancement of the competitiveness of the Armenian economy, and the country’s integration into the EDB community.