EBRD organizes investment forum for Western Balkan countries on February 24

Prime ministers of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia will gather at an investment forum that will take place at the EBRD headquarters in London on February 24.

This first all-incluseive Western Balkans summit at the EBRD will provide an ideal opportunity for business leaders and international companies to learn more about the countries and the Bank’s role in them, it was announced on the EBRD official website.

- The idea is to present this region as a whole as an investment destination. We hope that this conference, besides facilitating much needed foreign investment, will send a very strong political message about the maturity and stability of the region - said EBRD Senior Political Counsellor Oleg Levitin.

Regional integration through road corridors, gas pipelines, expansion in the manufacturing sector and other projects will be at the top of the agenda.

- We believe that regional integration needs to be made a priority - said Claudio Viezzoli, the EBRD’s Director for Western Balkans.

The EBRD sees supporting and promoting the Western Balkans as particularly important to foster the region‘s development by strengthening its potential.

The countries benefit from the IFI Joint Action which includes more than €30 billion of joint commitments for the period 2013-2014 in Central and South Eastern Europe as a whole.

In the Western Balkans and Croatia alone the EBRD invested in more than 80 projects totalling more than €1.2 billion in 2013. This was a new record. Over the years, the total of EBRD investments in the region has reached €10.5 billion.