CIS TO START OVERCOMING CRISIS NEXT YEAR

ARKA
May 20, 2009

YEREVAN, May 20. /ARKA/. The markets and economies of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS) will start overcoming the crisis next year,
but the first positive changes are expected at the end of this year,
stated Azam Usmanov, Vice-Chief of the Currency and Financial Policy
Section, Economic Development Department, CIS Executive Council.

"Recently has been some positive view that the crisis has reached the
bottom, and some stabilization is in progress," Usmanov told reporters
at the 9th sitting of the CIS Council of Heads of government agencies
for securities markets held in Yerevan on May 19-20.

However, he said, that the crisis initially affected the best developed
of the CIS economies, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

"Now we can say that the stock market collapsed in all the CIS
member-countries, and the economies have been serious affected,"
he said.

As regards the issues on the agenda, Usmanov pointed out that the
Council considered the execution of decisions made at its last sitting
and held unbiased hearings of reports made by representatives of the
CIS member-countries.

Responding to ARKA’s question, Usmanov pointed out that the Council
is working at the formulas that can be offered to the CIS securities
markets for them to overcome crisis.

At the end of its sitting, the Council may prepare some recommendations
on how it can influence the measures to temper the impact of the
crisis prepared by the CIS Governments.

Usmanov stressed that "the crisis will end some day, but we cannot
travel too far with our present way of thinking."

"We are now thinking of leading the economies out to innovation ways
of development, and integrated development is of high importance,"
he said.

The Council was formed by the CIS Heads of Government in 2003. At
present the Council includes representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and
Ukraine. The primary task of the Council is economic integration of
the CIS member-states in the securities market, ensure cooperation
in forming international standards of securities market management,
create conditions for further liberalization of capital flow in the
CIS member-states, ensure effective protection of investors’ rights
and effective supervision over the securities market.