OREANDA-NEWS. On October 24, 2008 Andrei Kostin, VTB President and Chairman of the Management Board visited Baku (Azerbaijan) to participate in the International banking conference of the CIS member states “Financial markets: Development and Integration”, reported the press-centre of VTB Bank.

The opening ceremony held on 24 October 2008, was attended by Ilham Geidarovich Aliev, President of the Azerbaijan Republic; Elman Siragi oglu Rustamov, Chairman of the National Bank of the Azerbaijan Republic; Aleksey Valentinovich Ulyukaev, First Deputy Chairman of the Bank of Russia; Andrei Leonidovich Kostin, VTB President and Chairman of the Management Board; Yuri Vladimirovich Trushin, Chairman of Rosselkhozbank; Grigori Alexandrovich Marchenko, Governor of the National Bank of Kazakhstan; and other top representatives of state bodies, banking and financial institutions of the CIS member states.

The agenda covers a wide range of issues related to cooperation of the CIS member states in financial, banking and investment spheres, among them: government support to banking systems during the world liquidity crisis, creation of favorable conditions to enhance cooperation between the CIS countries and growth of mutual investments in the post-Soviet space.

Addressing the conference, Andrei Kostin said: “Today, the most crucial are the issues related to further integration of the CIS countries with financial institutions being the main drivers of this process. Enhanced interbank cooperation and active use of national currencies in foreign economic settlements will facilitate setting up a large regional financial centre in Moscow. This will allow the CIS economies, even in the current environment, to continue dynamic development primarily based on a huge potential of their national resources.”

The conference is arranged by the CIS Financial and Banking Council under the support of the Government of the Azerbaijan Republic, the CIS Executive Committee, and the International Bank of Azerbaijan.