Armenia decides to allot $100,000 as primary contribution to EurAsEC

Interfax, Russia
Dec 18 2009

ARMENIA DECIDES TO ALLOT $100,000 AS PRIMARY CONTRIBUTION EurAsEC

The Armenian government has decided to allocate $100,000 as a primary
contribution to the Eurasian Economic Community’s (EurAsEC) Anti-
Crisis Fund, the Armenian government press service reported.

The press service cited Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan as saying that
all the EurAsEC member states are required to make contributions to
the fund, and it is only then that the finance ministers can meet to
determine the strategy of the fund’s spending.

It was reported earlier that Armenia had filed an application with the
Eurasian Development Bank for loans amounting in aggregate to $500
million from the Anti-Crisis Fund.

The prime ministers of the EurAsEC members, i.e. Belarus, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, with Armenia’s participation,
signed a treaty on establishing the Anti-Crisis Fund on June 9, 2009.

The Fund’s authorized capital is $10 billion, with Russia’s share the
biggest ($7.5 billion). The other founders have committed themselves
to making the following primary contributions: Belarus $10 million,
Kazakhstan $1 billion, Kyrgyzstan $1 million, Tajikistan $1 million,
and Armenia $1 million.

The Eurasian Development Bank will manage the fund’s assets.

The fund’s resources can be used for issuing sovereign loans to
overcome the crisis, stabilization loans to EurAsEC member states who
have low incomes and to finance intergovernmental investment projects.

The treaty allows for funds that are not tied up to be used for investment.