CIS Premiers approve financial market liberalization concept

ASHGABAT, 30 May (BelTA) – A session of the CIS Council of Heads of Government has approved a concept of liberalizing the financial services market of the CIS member states on 30 May, BelTA has learnt.

The concept is the basis for elaborating a development strategy and a liberalization policy of the financial services markets of the CIS. The strategy will serve as an additional instrument of international cooperation in the financial sector, which is expected to build up and modernize the potential of crisis management policies and rapid response to new challenges and threats.

The major goal of the concept is to improve national laws in order to secure an equal access and operation terms on the domestic markets of the CIS member states. The parties are set to identify and eliminate barriers impeding the access to the financial markets and to work out measures to protect the rights and interests of market participants. The concept envisages various cooperation forms, including preparation of joint projects and action plans.

The participants of the session also signed a cooperation agreement that envisages the establishment of an integration foreign currency market of the CIS member states. This document provides equal terms for inter-bank currency conversion operations for resident banks and banks of the other CIS member states. The agreement aims to ensure equal and mutually beneficial operation of resident banks on the integrated currency market of the CIS.

The CIS heads of government also signed a protocol on introducing amendments to the agreement on simultaneous operation of power grids of the CIS member states of 25 November 1998. They also passed a provision on the operator of the interstate innovative cooperation program of the CIS for the period until 2020. These functions will be performed by the Skolkovo fund.