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Heads of government from six Western Balkan countries to attend event in London -
Focus on foreign direct investments and regional and international economic integration -
Project pipeline 2022 focuses on green infrastructure, renewable energy and small businesses
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will host heads of government from Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia And Serbia to his Western Balkans Investment Summit 2022 on Monday February 28.
The event will be held in a hybrid online and physical format. The interactive discussion between heads of government and The President of the EBRD, Odile Renaud-Basso will be broadcast live. Investors will be able to participate online in the “Interactive Prime Ministers Session”.
The summit will bring together: Ana Brnabic, Prime Minister of Serbia; Dimitar Kovacevski, Prime Minister of North Macedonia; Zdravko Krivokapic, Prime Minister of Montenegro; Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of Kosovo; Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania; Zoran Tegeltija, President of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the EBRD.
The European Commissioner responsible for enlargement, Olivier Várhelyi will also speak at the summit.
The panel will be broadcast live via the Kaltura platform, which will appear on a dedicated page on ebrd.com. In the event of technical difficulties, the backup live stream will be available on YouTube. Translation to and from Albanian, Macedonian, Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian will be provided via the Interactio app.
This is the fifth EBRD summit of its kind; the inauguration Western Balkans Summitwhich brought together for the first time all the prime ministers of the region, was held at the EBRD in February 2014. The objective of the summit is to highlight investment and business opportunities and promote connectivity regional.
The EBRD in the Western Balkans
The Western Balkans are a priority region for the EBRD, the region’s largest institutional investor, with more than €15 billion invested to date.
Having invested €1.046 billion in 2021, the EBRD has already identified investment opportunities of the same amount for 2022 and plans to further expand its portfolio. This includes, among others, projects supporting the green energy transition, regional connectivity and environmental infrastructure, as well as private sector financing, both directly and through credit lines and risk sharing with local commercial banks. .
Albania: the EBRD invested 201 million euros in 2021, for a total commitment of 1.8 billion euros. Recent collaboration with the EU and the Albanian government has enabled support for tourism and agri-food.
Bosnia Herzegovina: the EBRD invested €140 million in 2021, for a total commitment of €2.8 billion. Recently, the Bank financed energy efficiency in buildings with the EU and signed new financing for the digitalization and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
North Macedonia: the EBRD invested €134 million in 2021, for total commitments of €2.23 billion. The Bank introduced the risk sharing mechanism with a local bank as a new product in the country. A new model of cooperation with the UN on green financing will be tested in the country in 2022, with government support.
Kosovo: the EBRD invested 50 million euros in 2021, for a total commitments of 583 million euros. The EBRD has just adopted a new country strategy for Kosovo And supported women entrepreneurs with the EU and other donors.
Montenegro: the EBRD invested €22 million in 2021, for a total commitment of €703 million. Recently, the EBRD supported an in-depth study of broadband infrastructure development in Montenegro, with technical assistance funded by the EU through the Western Balkans Investment Fund (WBIF).
Serbia: the EBRD invested €499 million in 2021, for total commitments of €7.2 billion. More recently, the EBRD and French Development Agency (AFD) has dedicated 150 million euros to solid waste management.
The EBRD is actively engaged in the areas of policy and regulatory reform, helping countries develop and implement ambitious decarbonization strategies, strengthen the business climate and governance of public enterprises, create more inclusive economies and accelerate the region’s digital transition. In the most recent example, the Bank helped the North Macedonian Stock Exchange to develop guidelines for environmental, social and governance reporting of listed companies.
The Bank also supports regional and cross-border projects. An example of innovative financing is the recent investment in an equity fund which will provide equity financing of technology start-ups in the Western Balkans, Croatia and Slovenia.
The construction of the electricity interconnection between North Macedonia and Albania has started, also supported by the EU grant under the Western Balkans Investment Framework.