The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is going to invest $1 billion by the end of the year. This statement followed a meeting between Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov and Nikolai Podguzov, head of the EDB, who discussed the implementation of infrastructural projects and perspectives of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of investment.
This year the two sides are going to focus on such sectors as transport, industry, energy, environment, agricultural complex, construction and modernization of social infrastructure.
As Bektenov underscored, Kazakhstan needs to attract money to those sectors that were highlighted by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: roads, housing construction, modernization of utility systems and expansion of the natural gas supply network.
«We expect the EDB to focus on financing big infrastructural projects. We are ready to expand our cooperation with the bank on a mutually beneficial basis,» Bektenov said.
In turn, Podguzov reported that the financial institution is very stable as it is boosting its investment in the country’s economy.
Last month, Podguzov also met with the president of Kazakhstan. During this meeting, he reported to President Tokayev that over the period from 2022 to 2023, the EDB invested $4.2 billion in the country’s economy, which is 1.5 times more than the plan for 2022-2026. As of the end of 2023, the share of Kazakhstani projects in the bank was 59%.
In late February 2024, the EDB proposed 12 initiatives aimed at the development of economic cooperation in Eurasia. These include the development of physical infrastructure (transport, water and energy complex and food logistics), trade relations, financial relations, including sustainable financing, and cooperation in the humanitarian field.
Early last year, the EDB member states redistributed their shares in the charter capital of the bank. As a result, the share of Russia dropped from 65.9% to 44.7%, while Kazakhstan’s share increased to 37.2%. The four other member states of the EDB are Armenia (4.2%), Kyrgyzstan (4.2%), Belarus (5.2%) and Tajikistan (4.2%).
