Russia, Kazakhstan to creat joint bank to boost investment in ex-Soviet region
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-01-13 14:53

Leaders of Russia and Kazakhstan on Thursday clinched a deal to establish a joint bank in a bid to bring more investment to the ex-Soviet region, news from Astana, the Kazakh capital, said.

Under the agreement, Russia will contribute two-thirds of the Eurasian Development Bank's charter capital and Kazakhstan one third .

Kazakhstan's newly elected President Nursultan Nazarbayev said via the bank his country will offer credits to those ex-Soviet countries, so as to help them restore economic ties, disrupted after the fall of the Soviet Union.

The creation of the new bank, based in the Kazakh commercial capital Alma-ata, witnesses the consistent expansion of the two nation's financial ties, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Wednesday, Putin attended Nazarbayev's presidential inauguration in Astana, during which he held talks with Nazarbayev, who will serve as the head of his country for another seven years.

After the talks, Nazarbayev disclosed that in 2005, the trade turnover between the two nations has amounted to around 10 billion U.S. dollars, a 35 percent increase compared with the amount of last year.

He added that the two neighboring countries will strive to double the trade volume in the next few years.