Common economic space can protect member countries from crisis

Kazakhstan, Astana, July 4 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /

The Common Economic Space (CES), which is now being formed, can become a safety cushion during a new wave of global financial crisis for Kazakhstan and other former Soviet countries wishing to join this project, Kazakh expert Bauyrzhan Turlybekov said on Wednesday speaking at the International videoconference on "Crisis in Europe and the world. What will happen to the economies of the CIS?".

"Common Economic Space, which is now being formed, can become a safety cushion during a new wave of global financial crisis for Kazakhstan and other former Soviet countries wishing to join this project," Turlybekov said.

He recalled that a year ago the Eurasia Foundation, which was created by the three countries forming the future of the CES - Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, allocated funds in the amount of $1 billion to Belarus, during a heavy fall of its currency.

According to the expert, Kazakhstan, in turn, can itself become a "safety cushion" for other countries in Central Asia, whose economies are not growing so successfully because of their lack of natural resources such as oil and gas, for example, Kyrgyzstan.

"Kazakhstan will be in Central Asia, as Germany in Europe, a stronger country, which will help the weaker," he added.

Turlybekov reminded that in addition to CES, whose formation must be completed by 2015, Kazakhstan has experience of resisting to crisis.

"In due time the authorities have created a National Fund, which accumulated funds in the event of just such periods of crisis. Now it has about $ 80 billion," he said.

Deputy Director of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Golovin, who took part in the videoconference, said about the need for financial integration of the CIS countries to struggle against crisis.

"There are measures that can unite the CIS countries. One of them, which is to create a unified Development Bank, is necessary for the whole post-Soviet space. It could concentrate the financial resources that could go to help a country strongly affected by the crisis," Golovin said.

The Russian expert believes that another measure to resist a crisis in Europe for the CIS countries can be united infrastructure projects and transport.

"This is what binds our countries and that may contribute to the development of domestic demand," Golovin said.

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