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EBRD shareholder representatives to visit Croatia
Representatives of the shareholders of the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development begin a three-day visit to Croatia on Wednesday. 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 in
Croatia following last November’s election of a new government and in
preparation for the Bank’s new strategy for Croatia due late this year.
Representatives of the Board in the delegation will be Scott Clark,
representing Canada and Morocco; Leon Herrera, representing Spain and Mexico;
Byung-Hwa Jin, representing Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Egypt; Igor
Ocka, representing Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Croatia; Peter
Reith, representing Australia, Korea, New Zealand and Egypt; Osamu Sakashita,
representing Japan; Gerd Saupe, representing Germany; Tadeusz Syryjczyk,
representing Poland, Bulgaria and Albania; and Andrija Kojakovic, advisor to
Director for Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic and Croatia. They will
be accompanied by Andrew Krapotkin, EBRD Director for Croatia.
During the visit the Board members will meet Croatia’s Minister of Finance and
EBRD Governor Ivan Suker, other government representatives, and
representatives of international financial institutions and the diplomatic and
business communities. The delegation will also visit several projects in which
the EBRD has invested. A meeting with the Governor of Croatia’s National Bank,
Zeljko Rohatinski, will offer Board members the opportunity to discuss the
country’s recent economic performance.
Croatia has staged a strong comeback from the aftermath of the war in the
early 1990s, with growth rates of 5.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent in 2002 and
2003, respectively. Substantial progress has been made towards closer
international integration, liberalisation of trade and prices, and the
privatisation of key sectors of the economy. The new government is continuing
the efforts to prepare Croatia for the start of negotiations on EU accession.
The EBRD signed its first deal in Croatia in 1994 and has since invested more
than €1 billion, including €320 million in 2002 and €150 million in 2003. All
told, the EBRD has mobilised some €2.4 billion from its business partners for
investment in Croatia, for projects ranging from agribusiness to transport and
banking to telecommunications. Croatia is the number one country regarding
EBRD investments per capita. EBRD President Jean Lemierre visited Croatia last
September and stressed the Bank’s support for the country and the region.
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