EDB’s geographical reach to be expanded to 11 states including Persian Gulf countries

ALMATY, June 25. /TASS/. The Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) new strategy through 2031 envisages expanding the development bank’s geographic footprint to 11 countries, including Georgia, Mongolia, and the Persian Gulf states, though not all of them will become shareholders of the bank in the future, EDB Board Chairman Nikolay Podguzov said at the development bank’s annual meeting and business forum.

"The bank’s board has approved a potential geographic expansion into 11 countries. These include nations in the region, such as Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Turkmenistan, as well as Gulf states: Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. <…> We aim to become a full-fledged regional development bank," he said, adding that not all 11 countries would necessarily become EDB shareholders.

"We have three new shareholders planned for the next strategic period, including the Sultanate of Oman," the official noted.

It is important to develop economic ties with neighboring countries of Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia, Podguzov said.

"We may work towards more dynamic expansion, but it is also important to ensure that the bank’s expansion supports, rather than hinders, its extensive operations and the active role of existing shareholders, that is, the bank’s original founders," he stressed.

The EDB is an international financial institution that conducts investment activities across the Eurasian region to foster economic ties and the comprehensive development of its member states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. Projects with an integration effect spanning transport infrastructure, digital systems, green energy, agriculture, industry, and mechanical engineering account for the majority of the EDB’s portfolio.