YEREVAN, April 15. /ARKA/. The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is ready to consider projects in other national currencies as well, provided there is access to the liability side, head of the EDB board Dmitry Pankin said in his exclusive interview to ARKA.

Since the beginning of its activities the bank has been funding projects also in rubles and tenge in particular, he said. The key issue is if there is access to the respective liabilities, he said.

The matter consists of two separate issues, according to Pankin. The first is the extent to which the local stock market is developed to allow for attraction of local currency funds through debt instruments. And the second is the derivative products that provide an opportunity to manage forex risks, Pankin said.

The EDB is a resident to none of the member states, and often access to domestic markets requires changes to the laws, which is not an easy process in reality, the head of the EDB board said.

The current investments portfolio of the EDB in Armenia is $51.5 million, and the cumulative portfolio is $127.5 million. According to the agreement signed between the EDB and the Armenian government earlier, $150 million will be provided for North-South road construction project.

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial organization established by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006 to help develop market economies and boost mutual trade ties in member states. The member-states are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. -0-