Almaty, 14 June 2011. The cooperation between the SCO Interbank Association and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has good opportunities and significant potential for development. This was stated by Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Executive Board, at the 7th session of the SCO Interbank Association’s Council.
He noted that the objectives of the Interbank Association and the EDB have, to a large extent, a lot in common. These are fostering the economic development of the member countries and enhancement of the trade and economic links between them. Some SCO member states (Russia, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan) are also member states of the EDB. The EDB head also expressed his hope that the Kyrgyz Republic will join the Bank this year. Kyrgyzstan’s application for joining the EDB is expected to be considered at a session of the Bank’s Council in late June.
Igor Finogenov reminded that, in recent years, a legal framework for the cooperation between the Interbank Association and the EDB has been set up, which includes the Memorandum on the Fundamentals of Partnership between the SCO Interbank Association and the EDB and bilateral Memoranda of Understanding and Cooperation between the EDB, on the one part, and Vnesheconombank and the China Development Bank, on the other part. These documents envisage cooperation in a number of areas, including joint financing of medium and long-term investment projects.
Since this area of cooperation is specifically important for the fulfilment of the Interbank Association and the Bank’s objectives, the Chairman of the EDB Executive Board suggested considering the establishment of a direct investment fund by the EDB and the SCO Interbank Association’s member banks to finance joint projects.
