The EDB and WB experts discuss the enhancement of cooperation in Armenia

Moscow, 18 March 2013. A group of experts from Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), as the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund (ACF) Resources Manager, headed by Sergey Shatalov and the World Bank’s (WB) experts Henry Kerali, Regional Director for the South Caucasus, and Jean Michel Happi, the WB Country Manager for Armenia, met to discuss joint operations in Armenia.

The experts talked about cooperation between the two multilateral development banks in Armenia in the run-up to the meeting of the Donor Advisory Group to Armenia scheduled for the autumn. The participants shared their opinions on a wide range of issues, including co-investment in agriculture, infrastructure and energy projects and research into Armenia’s economic tendencies and its place in Eurasian integration processes. The WB delegation expressed significant interest in EDB’s research products, primarily its sectoral and investment studies.

Particular attention was paid to cooperation in the area of municipal infrastructure, energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy, as well as the development of EDB’s products through joint public-private partnership (PPP) projects with the WB.

In addition, the participants discussed how to coordinate their partnership strategies for Armenia, which are being prepared by EDB and the ACF on the one part and the WB on the other part. This coordination will make it possible to use the resources of the banks in the most efficient manner in order to modernise the Armenian economy and improve its competitiveness.

The experts agreed to continue their consultations during the spring meeting of the WB, which will take place in April, and by means of joint visits to Armenia in order to prepare and implement joint investment projects.

Additional Information

The World Bank Group is made up of five unique development institutions owned by 187 member countries: (i) the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the (ii) International Development Association (IDA) — together widely known as The World Bank; (iii) the International Finance Corporation (IFC), (iv) the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and (v) the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Each institution plays a different but collaborative role in advancing the vision of inclusive and sustainable growth in a globalised world. The IBRD aims to support growth in middle-income countries and reduce poverty in creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world’s poorest states. For more information please visit: https://worldbank.org/russia

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.