Tigran Sargsyan: The EDB is the only and unique institution to promote integration
St. Petersburg, 2 December 2022. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is the only and unique development institution in the EAEU and there is a need to develop a network of institutions to foster Eurasian integration. Tigran Sargsyan, Vice Chairman of the EDB Management Board and Supervisor of the Fund for Digital Initiatives, stated this at the 10thEurasian Economic Perspective Annual International Forum.
“Implementing venture capital financing in the EAEU and setting up a Eurasian fund of funds could stimulate Eurasian integration,” he said.
Tigran Sargsyan highlighted four global challenges, including those affecting integration processes in Eurasia: a drastic acceleration of global change that today’s governance systems cannot always cope with; different approaches to understanding and ensuring self-sufficiency in different states; the crisis of self-identification at both individual and state levels; and the transition to a new technological paradigm with digital transformation as its integral part.
Speaking about the transition to a new technological paradigm, Tigran Sargsyan presented the EDB Fund for Digital Initiatives.
“We established this institution to improve the governance of Eurasian integration. The main mission of our Fund is to create digital platforms that will promote integration,” he said.
He also mentioned the Fund’s successful projects – the Work in the EAEU and the COVID-19-Free Travel apps. The latter has received not only recognition in Eurasia, but also an ADFIAP Sustainable Award in the Technology Development nomination.
Tigran Sargsyan continued his discussion of the new technological paradigm by pointing out that artificial intelligence has become an important component of modern digital ecosystems. Russia, the largest EAEU country, is among the world’s leaders in this area.
“Potentially, Russia – as the largest EAEU country – can meet the need for this key end-to-end technology for the Union’s single economic space,” he added.
However, none of the EAEU states has a consumer market that would accommodate globally competitive digital ecosystems. Tigran Sargsyan believes that, to effectively build a digital ecosystem capable of competing globally, it needs to be based on information about at least several hundred million people.
“Our countries can only realise their digital sovereignty within the Eurasian integration project while integration principles in the EAEU can only be implemented through digital transformation. This is the answer to the global challenges facing us,” Tigran Sargsyan concluded.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution investing in Eurasia. For 15 years, the Bank has worked to strengthen and broaden economic ties and foster comprehensive development in its member countries – Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Russia and Tajikistan. The EDB's charter capital totals US $7 billion. Its portfolio consists principally of projects with an integration effect in transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and mechanical engineering. The Bank’s operations are guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles.
The Eurasian Development Bank’s Fund for Digital Initiatives was established by the Bank’s Council on 30 June 2020. The Fund’s objective is to assist EDB member states in creating digital transformation tools and practices by integrating their information resources and participating in the development and financing of projects, including those implemented under the Eurasian Economic Union’s Digital Agenda 2025.
The EDB Media Centre:
Aigerim Akhanova
+7 (727) 244 40 44, ext. 6147
+7 (701) 328 38 98