Eurasian Economic Community member states lack money more than anything else, Lukashenka says

Like almost all countries, the Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC)'s member states lack money more than anything else at present, Alyaksandr Lukashenka said in Moscow on February 4 following a session of the EURASEC Interstate Council.

The planned establishment of a joint fund for minimizing the impact of the global economic downturn is a response to modern challenges, the Belarusian leader's press office quoted him as saying. An agreement to create the fund was signed at Wednesday’s EURASEC summit.

"The anti-crisis fund may be viewed as an element of anti-crisis measures," Mr. Lukashenka said. "We do not know the depth, duration, and consequences of the global crisis and are forced to do a lot tactically without devising a strategy."

The fund will be used to support only countries deemed to be in a "critical financial position," Mr. Lukashenka said. According to him, Russia will contribute about $7.5 billion and Kazakhstan around $1 billion to the $10-billion fund. It will be determined later how much the other member countries will provide, he said.

EURASEC comprises Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Belarus and Russia have devised their own anti-crisis plan in the framework of their Union State, Mr. Lukashenka said. It was signed at Tuesday's session of the Supreme State Council, he noted.

The EURASEC fund is "a safety cushion for countries or a group of countries in case their situation becomes very critical," Mr. Lukashenka said.

The Interstate Council and other EURASEC agencies have been tasked with considering what the fund would be used for and how much money would be provided for countries in need.

Proposals regarding the fund are to be submitted within three months.

The planned establishment of a EURASEC center of high technologies is also designed to tackle the effects of the economic crisis, Mr. Lukashenka said.

"The future is with high technologies," he noted. "It is clear that only the fittest will survive this crisis. One has to acknowledge that the current crisis has made everyone do what was necessary and only those who know how to work with their head will survive."

He suggested that Belarus would be the best location for the center. All preparatory planning work is to be completed within a month.

The next meeting of the EURASEC Interstate Council is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2009. //BelaPAN