YEREVAN, April 27, /ARKA/. Armenian energy and natural resources minister Armen Movsisyan and Igor Finogenov, board chairman of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), have signed today in Yerevan an agreement on the opening of the bank’s representation in Armenia.

Speaking at the ceremony prime minister Tigran Sarkisian said Armenia pins big hopes on this agreement welcoming the bank’s stepped up activity in the country. He said Armenia submitted a package of investment projects to the bank, designed to promote regional and integration trends in the region, which local commercial banks are still unable to support and fund.

He said two of these projects were designed to give a strong boost to Armenian chemical and energy sectors, each estimated at $100 million.

The Eurasian Development bank has signed today also memoranda with the energy and natural resources ministry, ArmRosgazprom natural gas operator, the International Energy Company, the South Caucasus Railways Company and Armbusinessbank.

‘We are interested to see large investment projects to materialize in Armenia to stimulate economic development and integration trends, both in the frameworks of the CIS and the Eurasian Economic Cooperation,’ Tigran Sarkisian said.

Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) was founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006. Armenia joined it in 2009 and submitted a package of 8 credit projects worth $500 million. Igor Finogenov said the bank prioritizes projects that are designed to deepen integration processes among EDB member states. The loans provided by the bank are repayable in 10 years. The largest possible amount of a loan is $350 million. The bank’s credit portfolio is above $1.3 billion.   -0-