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A road in Armenia

As part of the co-financing agreement, signed last week, the ADB will provide $2bn for the projects by 2021, while the EBD will deliver $1bn.

The ADB said its president Takehiko Nakao, and chair of the EDB management board Dmitry Pankin, discussed further deepening of the cooperation between the two development banks during the meeting where the deal was signed.

The EDB will also provide an additional $320m of financing to upgrade a crucial stretch of road in Armenia, if the government of Armenia also provides complementary funding for the project, while the ADB will help prepare a study into the project’s feasibility.

The EBD has already agreed to deliver $150m worth of funding for development of the road that connects the towns of Talin and Landjik in Armenia – part of the North-South road corridor, which links Central Asia and India with Iran, Georgia, Russia and Europe.

The EDB, founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in 2006, has provided $310m in loan co-financing for three ADB projects in Armenia and Kyrgyz Republic since 2013.