The EDB transfers an EFSD financial credit to Belarus
Moscow, 16 October 2020. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), acting as the Resources Manager of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD), transferred a US $500 million EFSD financial credit to Belarus.
The funds have been provided for up to ten years with a five-year grace period at a floating interest rate (the average yield of Russian Eurobonds denominated in US dollars for seven years).
The credit will be used to support Belarus’s budget amid the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to measures aimed at supporting the healthcare system and the population, the Belarusian Government and National Bank’s programme to counter the impact of COVID-19 on the economy and the financial and social sectors, as outlined in the nation’s application for the financial credit, provides for the implementation of prudent macroeconomic policies, including consolidation of non-priority budget spending, optimisation of tax incentives, and continued policies to promote market-driven exchange and interest rate mechanisms. Altogether, these measures are aimed at strengthening the debt sustainability of Belarus.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) 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. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 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.
The Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) amounting to US$8.513 billion was formed on 9 June 2009 by the governments of the same six countries. The objectives of the EFSD are to assist its member countries in overcoming the consequences of the global financial crisis, ensure their economic and financial stability, and foster integration in the region. The EFSD member countries signed the Fund Management Agreement with Eurasian Development Bank giving it the role of the EFSD Resources Manager.
The EDB Media Centre:
Alexander Savelyev +7 (985) 765 23 59 (Moscow)
Azima Sapargaliyeva +7 (777) 750 00 08 (Almaty)
Sergey Gorbachev +7 (916) 727 22 00 (Moscow)