YEREVAN, July 7. /ARKA/. The Council of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) chaired by Askar Mamin, Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, approved the EDB’s Strategy for 2022–2026. The participants in the meeting were the representative plenipotentiary of the Bank’s shareholders, including Mher Grigoryan, Deputy Prime Minister, Armenia; Yuri Seliverstov, Minister of Finance, Belarus; Alikhan Smailov, First Deputy Prime Minister, Kazakhstan; Akylbek Japarov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, Kyrgyz Republic; Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance, Russia; and Yusuf Majidi, Deputy Minister of Finance, Tajikistan.
In the coming period, the EDB will focus on cross-border investment projects with an integration effect and plans to invest a total of US $10.9 billion over the next five years.
The EDB will focus efforts on major investment projects such as the Europe–Western China transport and digital corridor, the EAEU+ single commodity distribution system, and the water and energy complex of Central Asia.
The Bank also plans to develop separate strategies for each of its member countries, taking into account the macroeconomic characteristics of the region. In pursuance of the sustainable development objectives, the EDB will expand projects operations in its minority countries, with aggregate investment in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan reaching US $500 million.
One of the EDB’s priorities will be to develop further digital competencies and infrastructure in order to build the EAEU+ Single Digital Space. To implement these objectives, in June 2020 the Bank established the Fund for Digital Initiatives, which is now considering around 20 projects. The first project implemented by the Fund was the COVID-19 Free Travel mobile app for cross-country verification of travellers’ PCR test data.
By 2027, the EDB intends to become a leader in initiating, structuring, and arranging finance for new projects in the region with the involvement of national and international development institutions. To obtain an A-grade credit rating, the Bank plans to expand its membership and attract additional funds into its capital.
In 2020, the EDB signed 18 new project agreements worth US $1.336 billion. The current investment portfolio was increased to US $4.4 billion – an all time high over the years of the Bank’s operation. Projects with an integration effect accounted for 64.3% of the portfolio. The net profit in 2020 amounted to US $32.6 million.
The Bank’s financial sustainability is confirmed by high ratings from rating agencies – Baa1 from Moody’s, BBB+ from Fitch, BBB from Standard & Poor’s, and A- from ACRA. The ratings on the national scales are AAA(KAZ) from Fitch and AAA(RU) from ACRA.
The EDB will place particular emphasis on supporting green economy developments. The Bank provided financing for new renewable energy projects, acquired a stake in the Astana International Finance Centre (AIFC), and has been working actively with UN organisations in this area.
The Bank has in place an effective payment and settlement system that enables cross-border payments in the national currencies through the EDB’s correspondent accounts with national (central) banks of the member states.
Additional Information:
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution promoting integration and development in its member countries. 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 portfolio mainly consists of projects with an integration effect in the areas of transport infrastructure, digitalisation, green energy, agriculture, industry, and mechanical engineering. The Bank adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG principles in its operations. -0-
