The 8th (post-inauguration) Working-Level Meeting of the GTI EXIM Banks Association (EBA) was successfully held on 23 January 2018 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The meeting was co-organized by the Development Bank of Mongolia (DBM) and the GTI Secretariat. A number of delegates from the member banks of EBA: State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)” of the Russian Federation; The Export-Import Bank of China; The Export-Import Bank of Korea; Development Bank of Mongolia, attended the meeting. Besides the member banks, some representatives from the sponsor company of the Zarubino Port Project, United Grain Company and the Far Eastern Grain Terminal company, responsible for the construction and operational management of the Specialized Grain Terminal in Zarubino Port, also participated in the meeting.
At the meeting, the chief executive officer of the Far Eastern Grain Terminal delivered a presentation about the current status of the Zarubino Port Project and members discussed their future involvement and what further steps could be taken. Chinese representative expressed some concerns about the possibility of securing sufficient grain cargo to make the Zarubino Port Project feasible and sustainable because Zarubino Port might confront competition from the existing Chinese ports. VEB (Vnesheconombank) emphasized the importance of establishing an expert group which will be dedicated to addressing issues and advancing the work of the project and communicate continuously since the next step of the project will have more technical details. Ms. Korshunova, Far Eastern Grain Terminal company, mentioned that if more attractive financing conditions are provided from the member banks, the company will consider all available options to minimize the construction costs.
All participants have reviewed and discussed the draft Amendment to Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation for the Financing of Specialized Grain Terminal in Zarubino Port Project which was prepared by Korean side and agreed, in principle, on the necessity of further extending the validity of the MOU. About the extended period of the MOU, all parties had the same opinion that three years are reasonable considering that the first stage project would be completed by 2021.
Lastly, concerning new project proposal for additional joint projects, the DBM presented the project about building an airport in Choibalsan, Dornod, Mongolia. Participants discussed the feasibility and usability of the project and highlighted the importance of the availability of more detailed information on the project for the member banks to get interested in the project.