Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

2011: Data and ReviewsMultilateral and RegionalDevelopment Banks in Northernand Central Eurasia: Overviewof Activities in 201115Ella BaybikovaElla Baybikova – MBA, Nottingham University Business School; asa Head of Strategic Planning Unit (Eurasian Development Bank) isresponsible for the formulation of EDB’s strategy. She has extensiveexperience in various areas of banking. She has a particular interestin the financial development institutions activities in the region ofEurope and Central Asia.E-mail: baybikova_er@eabr.orgThis paper aims to analyse the activities of the international and regionaldevelopment banks in the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, as well as Armenia, Belarus, Russiaand Ukraine. The international financial organisations engaged in the regioninclude the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank (WB), theEurasian Development Bank (EDB), the European Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the IslamicDevelopment Bank (IsDB). The legal ground for any multilateral developmentbank (MDB) activities in the country is, primarily, the country’s membership inthe bank, which is also provided with immunity and the special legal status ofinternational organisation.While analysing the MDBs’ activities, this paper proceeded from the informationlisted on the websites of the aforementioned MDBs. The first part of the overviewdwells upon the thematic initiatives and analytical activities of the multilateraldevelopment banks, while the second section of the current paper focuses oncooperation and coordination for the purpose of boosting the efficiency of theprovided assistance. The third part is devoted to the MDBs’ investment activitiesin the countries of the region.It should be noted, however, that the annual reports for 2011 had not beenpublished when this article was written, so it is based on the data published bythe MDBs on their official websites. At the same time, this paper does not aimto compare the quantitative index of investments.Eurasian Development Bank311