Trade and remittances lay ground for economic recovery in EDB countries — report

BISHKEK (TCA) — The economic trends improved in Q2 2017 in the member countries of Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. This development is largely based on the recovery of key transmission channels in the region, primarily trade and remittances. These are the findings of the Monthly Macroeconomic Review prepared by the Chief Economist Group at EDB.

The report states that in May 2017, remittances turned positive in all EDB countries. While in Kyrgyzstan, some positive rates of growth of remittances were registered already last year (21.6% for 2016), in Armenia, growth of remittances turned positive only in early 2017, exceeding 40% in dollar terms in May 2017 compared to the same period of 2016. In Tajikistan, after the annualised decline in remittances of over 70% in Q1 2016, remittances increased by 1.3% in Q1 2017 (based on data provided by the Central Bank of Russia).

In foreign trade, the Armenian economy demonstrates further significant achievements, with notable export growth, which reached nearly 40% in May 2017 against the same period of 2016, including both commodity and food exports. Similar developments are registered in Kyrgyzstan, where high rates of growth of gold exports, which raised by the factor of 1.5 in January-April 2017 compared to January-April 2016, are combined with a significant growth of textile and agricultural exports, which increased respectively by the factors of 1.5 and about 2 in January-April 2017 compared to January-April 2016.

“In general, mutual trade is expanding in all EDB countries, creating prerequisites for a more sustainable recovery of economies in the region in the coming few years,” says Yaroslav Lissovolik, Chief Economist at EDB.

Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth, and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. EDB’s charter capital totals US $7 billion. The member states of the Bank are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan.

Sergey Kwan

TCA

Sergey Kwan has worked for The Times of Central Asia as a journalist, translator and editor since its foundation in March 1999. Prior to this, from 1996-1997, he worked as a translator at The Kyrgyzstan Chronicle, and from 1997-1999, as a translator at The Central Asian Post.
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Kwan studied at the Bishkek Polytechnic Institute from 1990-1994, before completing his training in print journalism in Denmark.

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