OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2011. Belarus is fulfilling all commitments it has undertaken to get the loan from the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich said at a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council at the level of the heads of government.

The Belarusian head of government stressed that Belarus will meet all commitments in order to obtain the loan from the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund. “All is being executed in accordance with the matrix,” said the Prime Minister.

In turn, Russian head of government Vladimir Putin asked the Belarusian side to implement these commitments on time. “We would like to draw your attention to the fact that these conditions which have been agreed upon with Belarus should be performed in a timely manner,” he said addressing Mikhail Myasnikovich. According to Vladimir Putin, the timely implementation by Belarus of its commitments is necessary for effective use of the loan. “We understand that it is not easy, but for the resources to yield the maximum benefits, they should be used effectively," he added.

Vladimir Putin drew attention to the fact that Belarus, like many other countries, is facing difficult economic problems today. “We wish every success to the Belarusian state, Belarusian people,” said Vladimir Putin. He recalled the decision of the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund to allocate Belarus the loan in the amount of USD 3 billion. “The first tranche of USD 800 million has already been transferred. Now the issue of transferring the next tranche of USD 445 million is in the works,” he said.

Belarus expects the second tranche of the loan from the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund soon. The agreement between Belarus and the Eurasian Development Bank on the loan to Belarus from the Anticrisis Fund of the Eurasian Economic Community was signed on 9 June 2011. The agreement provides for six tranches over 2011-2013. The first tranche in the amount of USD 800 million was sent to Belarus on 21 June. The total amount of loan to be transferred in 2011 is USD 1.24 billion. The loan will be used to support the program of economic measures developed by the Government and the National Bank for the medium term, i.e., to replenish the international reserve assets and finance the deficit in the balance of payments of the Republic of Belarus.

Analyzing the economic situation in Belarus, Mikhail Myasnikovich noted that the country is now trying to balance the currency and consumer markets. “We understand that we need to go through this difficult path now in order to get a competitive edge in the single economic space,” he said.

“On 20 October we will start moving towards the single exchange rate of the national currency. It will be shaped solely by market instruments,” the Belarusian Premier emphasized. He also thanked the EurAsEC Anticrisis Fund for the financial support.

Talking about the agenda of the EurAsEC Interstate Council, Mikhail Myasnikovich said that this year the organization launched a program “Innovative biotechnologies”. Therefore, the Prime Minister invited scholars and businessmen of the EurAsEC member states to take part in the scientific conference on the subject scheduled for the end of October. “The Eurasian strategic program to promote electronic technologies should be the next step, we believe,” he noted. Mikhail Myasnikovich suggested investing major efforts into developing this document.

Cooperation within EurAsEC is an absolute priority for Russia, stressed Prime Minister of Russia Vladimir Putin. “We intend to continue helping improve the effectiveness of the organization, respect for it and its international authority,” he said.

The Russian head of government remarked that EurAsEC has instruments to respond to global economy risks, to protect common interests and social wellbeing of its citizens. In his opinion, the countries will have to continue pursuing the coordinated policy and wisely use advantages of integration mechanisms.

“I am confident that further enhancement of integration, implementation of major joint projects can be a powerful source of economic growth for our countries, can be an incentive for creating modern enterprises and new high-tech jobs,” concluded the Russian Prime Minister.

The EurAsEC Court will start operating on 1 January 2012. “This will strengthen the legal aspects of our association, will create additional guarantees to protect the interests of business, all participants in economic life,” Vladimir Putin said.

In turn, Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich said that Belarus will create all necessary conditions for comfortable operation of the Court of the Eurasian Economic Community.

The EurAsEC Court will be based in Minsk. It will be empowered to resolve economic disputes arising in the Customs Union. States, bodies of the EurAsEC and the Customs Union, economic entities of the Customs Union can apply to the EurAsEC Court.

“The heads of government of the EurAsEC member states have decided in favor of the participation of the Kyrgyz Republic in the Customs Union; a relevant working group is being set up. We invite you to suggest the high level experts to join the working group,” Tair Mansurov said. The working group will regularly report on the progress in the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Customs Union at the sessions of the organization.

Acting Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Omurbek Babanov noted that a concrete action plan on Kyrgyzstan’s participation in the Customs Union will be adopted soon.