|
EBRD Directors visit Bosnia and Herzegovina
A delegation of the EBRD Board of Directors arrives in Bosnia and Herzegovina
(BiH) on 26 March for a 3-day visit that involves meetings with Prime Minister
for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Adnan Terzic, Prime Minister for Republika Srpska,
Milorad Dodik, and other senior government officials, as well as High
Representative Christian Schwarz-Schilling, local and foreign business
leaders, and representatives of the international community based in BiH. They
will also visit a number of projects in which the EBRD has invested.
Representatives of the Board in the delegation include Scott Clark, for Canada
and Morocco; Vassili Lelakis, for the European Community; Michael Neumayr, for
Austria, Cyrus, Israel, Malta, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Jonathan Ockenden, for the United Kingdom; Turan Oz, for Turkey, Switzerland,
Liechtenstein, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and
Serbia and Montenegro; Olivier Rousseau, for France; Gerd Saupe, for Germany;
Hans Sprokkreeff, for Netherlands and Mongolia. They will be accompanied by
Claudio Viezzoli, EBRD Director, Western Balkans, and Aygen Yayikoglu, EBRD
Director for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The visit will enable the Directors to get an impression of the country’s
ongoing reform agenda and the challenges it continues to face. In 2005, the
EBRD issued its revised strategy for BiH, outlining priority areas for the
Bank. These include private-sector development, especially small and
medium-sized enterprises, support for infrastructure projects such as
transport, energy, and municipal development, promoting much-needed foreign
investment, and support for the financial sector by considering services
including mortgage lending, leasing, and insurance.
The EBRD is among the largest investors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with more
than €505 million invested in 43 projects. Working with partners from the
private sector, donors and international financial institutions, the Bank has
helped mobilise further funds in the range of € 1.2 billion.
The Directors’ visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina is the first stop during a
five-day trip that will also include a visit to FYR Macedonia.
|
