ArmInfo.The investment portfolio of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) in Armenia will be increased, Executive Director of the Fund Andrey Shirokov expressed such a hope during the meeting held yesterday in Yerevan with RA Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan.
According to him, whose words cites the press service of the RA government, this year the EFSD celebrates its 10th anniversary. During this time, important economic development programs have been implemented for the member countries.
In turn, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that as a result of the cooperation of the republic with the Fund, positive results were recorded. He added that there is every opportunity to deepen and expand this cooperation. The Deputy Prime Minister reminded about the reform programs implemented in Armenia, pointing out the development priorities. He, in particular, noted that the government of the country intends to focus on the policy of developing an innovative economy and in the near future, ongoing initiatives should be carried out within the framework of this ideology.
The interlocutors discussed projects related to the construction of the North-South highway, the construction of reservoirs and the modernization of irrigation systems.
To recall, earlier in an interview with ArmInfo, Andrey Shirokov noted the EFSD's intentions to provide Armenia with a loan of $ 150 million for the construction of the southern section of the North-South highway. The issue of allocating funds is at the stage of active discussions. He also indicated the allocation of $ 40 million for the modernization of irrigation systems and the development of institutional capacities of water users. The loan with an annual rate of 2% is granted for a period of 20 years, of which 10 years is a grace period for payments. The loan program will be aimed at improving the efficiency of the irrigation system and expanding the area of irrigated land. It is planned to build and restore throughout the territory of Armenia 8 self-flowing systems with a total length of 70, 4 km, 8.1 km of main canals, 54.1 km of inter- farm canals, 277.8 km of on-farm networks. The EFSD (formerly the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund) is a regional financial mechanism with a capacity of $ 8.5 billion. In 2009, it was founded by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. In particular, the fund provides financial loans to governments to support the budgets or balance of payments of member states. The funds of the EFSD are managed by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The EDB is an international financial institution established by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 to promote the development of the market economy of the participating states, their sustainable economic growth and the expansion of mutual trade and economic ties. The Bank's member states are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.