Official website of the President of Russia

News   /

At the meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Acting President of Kyrgyzstan Kurmanbek Bakiev and Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov were present.

As observers Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Moldavian Representative Mr Kozhukhar also took part in the meeting.

Russia and Kazakhstan agreed to create a Russian-Kazakhstan investment bank with a nominal capital of $1.5 billion, President Vladimir Putin announced this at the session.

The opening of this new financial institution is planned for the end of 2005. The headquarters of the bank will be located in Almaty, and a branch will also be opened in St. Petersburg.

The bank will work throughout the entire post-Soviet area, but its main task is to provide for the economic activity of EurAsEC.

The bank is also open for shareholders from other countries to joint, above all members of the EurAsEC, the Russian President said.