Eurasian Economic Community Anti-Crisis Fund Board to convene before year-end
MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - The Eurasian Economic Community Anti-Crisis Fund Board, which comprises six finance ministers of the founding countries of the Eurasian Development Bank, will meet before the end of this year, Eurasian Development Bank Deputy CEO Sergei Shatalov said on Thursday.
The Board may consider the granting of the second tranche of a loan to Belarus at the amount of $440 million.
"Our experts are working in Minsk" to evaluate the economic condition of Belarus, Shatalov said. In particular, they will appraise results of the liberation of the currency exchange rate that started on Thursday.
In compliance with the Belarusian governmental program, bank experts evaluate the Belarusian economic condition by ten parameters, he said.
"We can see substantial progress; the country has solved a number of problems," he said, noting that the evaluation of the results of the liberalization of the currency exchange rate was vital for the decision to grant the second tranche.
The recommendation to grant the second tranche might be given soon and the final decision will be made by the Eurasian Economic Community Anti-Crisis Fund Board.
In addition, the Board may discuss modernization of the Nurek hydropower plant in Tajikistan. The project will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but it will strengthen the national budget.
A decision on granting a loan to Kyrgyzstan may be made soon, Shatalov said.
Bank experts have considered the loan appeal of Kyrgyzstan. The Board recommended in June "to foster the loan issue after the entry of Kyrgyzstan in the Eurasian Development Bank," he said.
Kyrgyzstan still needs to ratify the agreement on the Bank's presence on its territory. The law was signed on Wednesday, he said.