ALMATY, Kazakhstan, June 28. The final day of the Annual Meeting and Business Forum of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has wrapped up in Almaty, Trend reports.
The event featured three panel sessions: "The EDB’s Investment Instruments: Results and Prospects," "Digital Technology and Innovations for Eurasia," and "Eurasian Economic Union: Results and Prospects of Investment Project Implementation". Additionally, the Bank presented a "Water and Sanitation in Central Asia" study.
Speaking at the event, EDB Senior Managing Director Denis Ilyin emphasized that the bank has become a leader in lending in national currencies among international development banks. He noted that Kazakhstan's national currency is very active and in high demand.
"For us, the national currency is as much a tool for financing our projects as the dollar and the euro, which are familiar currencies for international development banks," he said.
Head of the EDB Directorate of Strategic Projects, Victor Lebedev, highlighted that the Central Asian region has an exceptional opportunity to become a crossroads between major markets.
"Our countries rank between 79th and 123rd in the world for logistics efficiency. Central Asia has an exceptional chance to become a crossroads between huge markets, but this requires significant investment. According to our estimates, $250 billion needs to be invested to provide unlimited opportunities for transportation and movement of goods within the region and in transit," he said.
Meanwhile, EDB Vice Chairman of the Management Board and Chief Economist, Evgeny Vinokurov, emphasized the need for increased investment in water resources management during the presentation of the "Water and Sanitation in Central Asia" study.
"Today, the Central Asian region needs $2 billion more investment for water management than is currently being provided," Vinokurov stated.
EDB Head of the Center for Infrastructure and Industrial Research, Arman Ahunbaev, highlighted that water consumption in Central Asia has doubled since the early 1990s. He also pointed out significant water losses amounting to 55 percent.
"We are losing almost half of the water in distribution networks due to this deterioration. Another critical statistic is that 10 million people, accounting for 14 percent of the population, currently lack access to safe drinking water. This disproportionately affects rural areas, where about 87 percent lack access, while urban areas fare slightly better. However, mere access does not guarantee safe drinking water, as water quality is crucial. In Kazakhstan, more than 70 percent of wastewater treatment facilities are deteriorated. In Uzbekistan, almost a third of the population consumes water that fails to meet necessary standards," Ahunbaev explained.
Finally, on the sidelines of the event, a joint cooperation agreement was signed between the EDB, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
"We have signed a trilateral agreement today to further cooperate in water resources management with elements of digitalization. This agreement is the result of our collaborative efforts over the last six months. I believe that signing this document will provide a significant impetus to issues related to water conservation, rational water use, and the sustainable management of water resources in our republic," commented Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov on the signed document.
During the first day of the event, sessions were held on "Islamic Finance in Central Asia," "Water, Energy, and Food in Central Asia: Partnerships and Projects for Sustainable Development," and "The Eurasian Transport Network: Potential, Challenges, and Solutions."
Participants engaged in discussions on various topics including the advancement of Islamic finance in Central Asia, global trends in Islamic finance and banking, coordination of the "water, energy, and food" nexus development, collaboration among multilateral development banks and international organizations to advance the water and energy sectors in Central Asia, promising projects in these crucial areas, and priorities for developing freight corridors and other transport-related issues.
Also on the first day of the event, several agreements were signed among participants. The EDB and the Islamic Development Bank Institute signed a memorandum of understanding to foster Islamic finance in Central Asia. Additionally, the EDB agreed with the Dar Al Sharia consulting company to collaborate in the field of Islamic finance.
Furthermore, the event featured presentations of studies titled "Promoting High Environmental and Social Standards in Central Asia: EDB Experience and Lessons Learned" and "Eurasian Transport Framework".
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