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SCO Development Bank Proposes Project Financing in India and Iran
20 November 2014
EIRNS — The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Development Bank, now in the process of being formed, has indicated that it would like to finance the proposed overland Russia-India oil and gas pipeline — traversing through transit states such as Kazakhstan or China, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, said Russia & India Report (RIR). Establishment of the SCO Bank had been in the news for a while, but it got a boost during its 2013 Tashkent Heads of State summit. The article went on to say, citing a source familiar with Russia-India talks, that New Delhi has already initiated the formation of a joint working group to study the pipeline running through Central Asian nations. The SCO Development Bank, with a concept that is undergoing stage by-stage discussions, will focus on financing multilateral infrastructural projects, the SCO’s top official told RIR. In addition to investing in the Russia-India oil and gas pipeline, RIR’s article said the bank is also keen to shore up transport infrastructure within Iran. It said Russia’s discussion with Iran, which is an observer country in the SCO and not a full member yet, centres around enhancing trade with Iran, particularly in transporting surplus Russian grains to Iran, and selling of Iranian crude through Russian traders. This would enhance selling of more Iranian crude, since the West-imposed sanctions against Iran prevent the country from selling a large amount of the crude it is capable of producing. Ramtanu Maitra |