CIS drafts joint anti-crisis program

The Community of Independent States (CIS) is drafting a joint anti-crisis program, stated Sergey Lebedev, the chairman of the CIS executive committee, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. According to him, the trade among the CIS countries severely fell following the financial crisis. The program is meant to improve the situation. Lebedev says the issue has been discussed at a series of recent meeting of CIS officials. In September 2009, the CIS finance ministers will attend a new conference which will elaborate a joint anti-crisis program for the member states. The official says some proposals have already been received but they need updating. He highlights the need to identify new investments to support the real sector, the infrastructure and small and medium businesses, as is done in Armenia, Moldova, and Tajikistan. Another proposal is linked to preserving the stability of the banking system, cutting interests on loans offered to companies, especially to the ones working in farming and industry, as the state pays a part or all the interest. For instance Armenia covers 10% of those 18% of the interest on loans issued to farmers. The rural entrepreneurs from Russia pay only 20% of the interest, as the state pays for the remaining 80%. Citizens are also enticed to buy Russian cars, by being offered to pay just 1/3 of the price. Special attention is being paid to the labor market. In Tajikistan, they drafted a program meant to create 150,000 jobs, including for the ones returning from abroad. According to the chairman of the CIS executive committee, it’s important not to let the production in companies fall to a level from which it will be impossible to reboot. Modernizing production, developing science to generate high added value, promoting innovations will allow overcoming the consequences of the crisis and will create a solid basis for development in the future. Over 100 new companies have been set up in Belarus for the last three years, as other 500 are updated. Sergey Lebedev says many CIS countries work to strictly monitor the banking sector, to enhance its transparency and to cleanse it from crime. On June 19, the CIS Economic Council met in Chisinau.