Thursday, June 27 2024 16:32

ArmInfo. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is open and will be happy to work to attract  new shareholders, including Turkey. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) Nikolai Podguzov stated this on June 27 in Almaty within the framework of the EDB Annual Meeting and  Business Forum in a conversation with journalists to clarify how things stand in the matter of cooperation with Turkiye.

"We, of course, are focused primarily on the shareholder countries  and are actively investing in our region of presence. But, for  example, Kazakhstan has very close ties with Turkey, and yes, the  Russian Federation.  And there are a number of joint projects. This  is, for example, construction hospitals, this is the creation of the  large Almaty ring road, this is literally the recently opened  terminal of the Almaty airport, which with the participation of  Turkish investors is happening through joining the bank," Podguzov  emphasized.

At the same time, he added that in this matter it is difficult for  the Bank to show too persistent initiative, because the shareholders  must first communicate. "But we, of course, are very open to  interaction with Turkey. Unfortunately, the tragedy that occurred  some time ago, the earthquake that claimed a large number of lives,  we also allocated $1 million from the technical assistance fund as  part of humanitarian support to eliminate the consequences  earthquakes. I repeat, we are open and will be happy to work to  attract new shareholders, including Turkey. All North-South routes  are very relevant for Turkey, so I believe that our work in the  region also works for the Republic of Turkey," said Podguzov.

In turn, Evgeniy Vinokurov, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Chief  Economist of the EDB, drew attention to the fact that the region has  historically worked along a west-east line. According to him, "that  is, everything that the accumulated infrastructure connects the  entire West and East. And now, over the last 10 years and especially  now, the North-South corridors have begun to grow. And we calculated  that when the West, the North, and the South intersect, a synergy of  +40% of container traffic arises, a case with the intersection of the  western north-south branch and TRACECA. There, the origin of a new  flow due to synergy, a new flow went to Turkey. And now is an  absolutely historic time. You know, jokes aside, even in the 12th  century the Silk Road went from west to east. And now, for the first  time in history, non- regional routes are emerging, not only the  North-South ITC along the Caspian Sea, but also other corridors in  Central Asia. And Central Asia got a chance to first reduce its  costs, which are 40% higher than the costs of countries that are  doing well, such as Chile, and then become a transport crossroads,"  Vinokurov concluded.