EDB hopes to see Azerbaijan among bank's shareholders

11:51, 06 декабря 2024, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Baktygul OSMONALIEVA

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) hopes to increase the number of its shareholders, and Azerbaijan could be one of them, EDB Board Chairman Nikolai Podguzov told at a press conference.

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Podguzov noted the necessity of EDB’s natural growth through attracting new participants.

«We want to strengthen our activities to attract new participants to the bank. As a bank operating in the Eurasian region, we see that primarily neighboring countries in the region could be candidates. Countries like Turkmenistan, Mongolia, or Azerbaijan could become real partners of the bank. Middle Eastern countries are interested in investing in the Central Asian region,» he said.

According to the head of the bank, he is not yet ready to report any specific results of the negotiation process, because this is always a very quiet work. But he is confident that in 2025 the EDB will be able to speak more comprehensively about the new candidate countries joining the bank.

The EDB is an international development bank with an authorized capital of $7 billion. The bank’s shareholders are six countries — Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Uzbekistan is completing the procedure for joining the bank.