The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international development finance institution investing in the development of the economies, trade and other economic ties, and integration in Eurasian countries. The EDB was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Bank has a branch in St. Petersburg and representative offices in Nur-Sultan, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Yerevan, Minsk, and Moscow.
History of the EDB
The founding of the Eurasian Development Bank on 12 January 2006 was initiated by the Presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan. It began operating in June 2006.
Armenia and Tajikistan joined the EDB in 2009, Belarus in 2010, and the Kyrgyz Republic in 2011. In January 2013, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development recognised the EDB as a multilateral financial institution.
In March 2022, the bank's eurobonds were downgraded by Fitch due to the Ukraine war sanctions which prompted the bank to offer buybacks of the 2022 eurobonds up to the amount of $200 USD million.
Membership
The present membership of the Bank consists of 6 countries. Other states and international organisations can become members by acceding to the Agreement Establishing the Bank.
Ranked on the basis of paid-up capital (as of January 2023) major shareholders include: Russia (44.78 %) Kazakhstan (37.28%) Belarus (5.21 %) Tajikistan (4.25%) Kyrgyzstan (4.22%) Armenia (4.22%)
Potential members
During an interview, Dmitry Pankin, chairman of the EDB's management board, stated that there were 12 countries expressing to join, including Azerbaijan, Egypt, Israel, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam. Moldova: In November 2019, Moldova confirmed its intention to join the Eurasian Development Bank during a meeting in Moscow. Hungary: Hungary expressed its interest to join the Eurasian Development Bank. Hungarian finance minister Mihály Varga stated that the Hungarian government is aiming for full membership by 2020. As a former member of Comecon, Hungary will be the first former Warsaw Pact state to join the EDB.
Mission and strategy
The EDB's mission is to promote market economies and economic growth in its member states and help expand trade and other economic ties between them by means of investment.
The EDB's Strategy for 2022–2026 sets out the following development objectives: Strengthening the Bank's unique integration role in the EAEU+. The Bank's total investment will amount to US$10.9 billion; Implementing integration mega-projects in transport infrastructure and logistics, food security, water and energy: the Eurasian Transport Corridor, the Eurasian Commodity Distribution System, and the Central Asian Water and Energy Complex; Developing the EDB's digital projects by focusing on support for the digital agendas of the Bank's member countries to promote their digital transformation; Promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals and ESG approaches in the Bank's corporate governance, and increasing financing for the Bank's green and social projects; Enhancing operations in the countries of the EDB's minority shareholders. Five-year strategies have been developed for each of the Bank's member states, tailored to their economic and investment profiles. The Bank's investment in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan is expected to reach US$500 million by 2026.
International cooperation
The EDB cooperates with other international organisations, national and international development institutions, academic and civil society organisations, associations and unions to support the Bank's activities in the member states and beyond.
The EDB has held observer statuses at: the United Nations General Assembly (since 2007); the Eurasian Group on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (EAG) (since 2008); the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board; the International Investment Bank (since 2014).
The EDB: is a member of the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA); participates in the Multilateral Financial Institutions’ Working Group on Environmental and Social Standards (since 2012); cooperates with the World Economic Forum (WEF; since 2014).