|
EBRD’s shareholder representatives visit Estonia
Representatives of the shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development begin a three-day visit to Estonia on Sunday. The Board of Directors represents the Bank's 62 public shareholders and approves all Bank projects. The goal of the visit is to learn more about the state of reforms and economic transition in Estonia as it prepares to join the EU in May 2004.
Representatives of the Board in the delegation will be Konstantin Andreopoulos, representing the European Investment Bank; Ohad Bar-Efrat, representing Austria, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Kazakhstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina; Scott Clark, representing Canada and Morocco; Tomas Danestad, representing Sweden, Iceland and Estonia; Torsten Gersfelt, representing Denmark, Ireland, Lithuania, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Sven Hegelund, representing Sweden, Iceland and Estonia; Gonzalo Ramos, representing Spain and Mexico; Peter Reith, representing Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Egypt; Mark Sullivan, representing the United States of America; and Imre Tarafas, representing Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Croatia. They will be accompanied by Salvatore Candido, EBRD Director for the Baltic states, and Urmas Paavel, head of the EBRD Resident Office in Estonia.
During the visit the Board members will meet Prime Minister Juhan Parts, and other high level officials, as well as representatives of the diplomatic and business communities and civil society. The delegation will also visit several projects in which the Bank has invested, both in the capital city of Tallinn and in the countryside. Furthermore, the Board members will visit the Narva region on the border with Russia.
In the run-up to its accession to the European Union, Estonia has managed to achieve impressive progress. Growth rates of 6.0 per cent in 2002 and an estimated 4.5 per cent this year were supported by strong domestic demand. Due to the slowdown in the world economy the inflow of foreign direct investment decreased significantly recently, which contributed to a widening of the current account deficit.
The EBRD stands ready to support the country in overcoming the remaining challenges of the transition process. It will focus on further expanding support to small and medium-sized enterprises through local and regional financial institutions, facilitating the inflow of foreign direct investment and financing infrastructure investments and utilities at both the national and local levels. The Bank will also continue to promote the restructuring and improved corporate governance of enterprises.
At the end of 2002 the EBRD’s portfolio in Estonia was €240 million, of which 91 per cent was in the private sector. The Bank expects to continue to play an important role in the country also after it becomes a member of the European Union. After their visit to Estonia, the Board members travel to Lithuania.
|
