OREANDA-NEWS. November 11, 2010. A representative office of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) opened in Minsk. It is the fifth office the bank has opened in its founding countries after Moscow, Astana, Dushanbe and Yerevan.

At the opening Vice Premier of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov said that “For the opening we have a certain portfolio of projects that have been launched as far as lending to our economy is concerned”. On 3 November Vitebskenergy and the EDB signed a USD 100 million credit agreement to build the Polotsk hydropower plant. The number of projects also includes the USD 55 million project to supply BelAZ trucks for retooling Siberian Coal Energy Company, the USD 50 million project to supply tractors to Russia’s Chuvashia. Projects involving Belshina, Grodno Azot and other Belarusian manufacturers are being discussed.

The Eurasian Development Bank signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Belarusian Transport and Communication Ministry, the Belarusian state power engineering corporation Belenergo. The Eurasian Development Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Osipovichi railway car plant. The Eurasian Development Bank and BPS Bank have signed financing terms for providing a credit facility to finance small and medium businesses, to finance export and import operations. Financing terms with Belgazprombank have been signed.

“Formalization of what we are already doing in the republic is underway,” said Andrei Kobyakov.

The official thanked the EDB administration for organizing this state of things and for clear understanding of the Belarusian economy. He said he was confident the EDB operation in Belarus will be effective. “Interests of the bank completely coincide with Belarus’ interests in social and economic development, in particular, in the crediting of the most important infrastructural projects. We are ready for cooperation with the bank. I am sure that soon the limits the bank has set for Belarus will be reached and may be even raised in the future,” stressed Andrei Kobyakov.

He said that the Eurasian Development Bank runs the EurAsEC anticrisis fund, of which Belarus is a member. “Interesting projects are under consideration there such as the construction of motorways and the reconstruction of Orsha Linen Mill. The projects are really being worked on and will be accepted for crediting soon,” said the Vice Premier of Belarus.

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) plans to allocate up to USD 2 billion in loans to finance development projects in the Belarusian power engineering industry, chairman of the board of the EDB Igor Finogenov told reporters.

“We have calculated that the bank’s involvement in the energy development projects in Belarus alone may reach USD 1.5-2 billion. We are making progress in other areas too. As of today the portfolio makes up USD 630 million. This is our participation in the projects,” Igor Finogenov said.

The chairman of the Board of the EDB said that the work on projects in Belarus will continue. “It allows us to join some really interesting projects, which are economically viable and important for the country. This will promote cooperation and integration in the Eurasian Economic Community and the CIS,” he added.

According to Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov, the country expects great results from the cooperation with the EDB. He recalled that in 2011-2015 Belarus is set to implement an ambitious program to modernize the economy. “We will need to attract a sufficiently large amount of investment, ‘long’ money, at reasonable rates. The EDB is one of those financial institutions that can make a contribution to the social and economic development program for the next five years,” Andrei Kobyakov said. He added that the bank is ready to give loans to Belarus for 15 years at attractive rates. “The main thing is that the bank is ready to credit our infrastructural projects which are “the backbone of the economy,” Andrei Kobyakov stressed.

The Eurasian Development Bank is an international financial organization that Russia and Kazakhstan founded in January 2006 to further the development of market economies of the member states, to encourage their sustainable economic growth and to expand mutual trade and economic ties. The EDB’s authorized capital exceeds USD 1.5 billion.

In June 2010 Belarus completed the procedures to become a member of the Eurasian Development Bank. Belarus has transferred its USD 15 million share in the authorized capital of the bank to become the fifth founding country along with Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Tajikistan.

Vice Premier of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov has been appointed Belarus’ plenipotentiary representative in the Council of the Eurasian Development Bank.

The Belarusian government and the EDB signed an agreement in Saint Petersburg on 17 June 2010 to determine rules of stay of the bank in Belarus, to determine immunities and privileges of the bank as an international financial organization. The agreement enables the bank to open the representative office in Minsk and to more vigorously get down to working on investment projects in Belarus.

According to the founding documents, any country or international organization can apply for the EDB membership, as long as the bank’s criteria are met. Successful applicants become members following a decision of the EDB Council and after having paid in a required share capital.