The Black Sea Trade and Development (BSTDB) and SOCAR AQS, a major drilling and well services company headquartered in Azerbaijan, have reached an agreement to partner for advancing regional cooperation in the energy sector, according to a joint press release of the bank and the company.
“BSTDB is providing a EUR 20 million Trade Finance Facility to finance imports of industrial equipment and materials from BSTDB member countries,” they said.
The loan agreement was signed at the BSTDB Headquarters in Thessaloniki.
According to the press release, the transaction will have a strong regional and developmental impact through acquisition of casings, tubular, rig, well service equipment, drill bits, power generators, and crane equipment mainly from Russia, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
“The partnership with SOCAR AQS will generate significant economic benefits and technological advancement opportunities for many producers and suppliers in the region. We hope to develop further our partnership in the coming years,” Dmitry Pankin, BSTDB President, said, signing the loan agreement.
“The partnership with BSDTB will enable SOCAR AQS to expand our business and further integrate to supply-chain ecosystem in the region,” Ramin Isayev, General Director of SOCAR AQS, said.
First Deputy Prime Minister and Economic Development and Trade Minister Stepan Kubiv at the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) has called the bank to increase financing of projects in Ukraine commensurate with the country’s contribution in the bank’s share capital, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry has reported on its website.
“It is important that the Board of Governors expands the activities of the bank and in 2018 approved 28 new projects worth EUR 569.7 million. At the same time, it is important that the active portfolio in Ukraine corresponds to the level of our contribution to the share capital of the bank, that is, 13.5% rather than 6% as we see today,” the ministry’s press service said, citing Kubiv speakingh in Istanbul (Turkey).
He also proposed holding the 22nd annual meeting of the BSTDB in Ukraine in 2020.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established in 1998 by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries.
