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EBRD President visits Serbia and Montenegro
EBRD President Jean Lemierre arrives in Serbia and Montenegro today for a
two-day visit to meet senior officials including Svetozar Marovic, President
of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, and Vojislav Kostunica, Prime
Minister of Serbia (10 February), and Filip Vujanovic, President of the
Republic of Montenegro, and Milo Djukanovic, Prime Minister of Montenegro (11
February). He will also meet local and foreign business leaders and
representatives from the international community in the Union.
During his visit, Mr Lemierre will underline the EBRD's continued commitment
to Serbia and Montenegro, to work with the government to push through
necessary reforms and he will reiterate the importance the Bank is putting on
the wider region. The EBRD is placing more and more emphasis on the Western
Balkans to help develop these countries’ economies and further promote their
growth, said Mr Lemierre, who is also expected to sign a project during his
visit that will help improve air safety and navigation across Serbia and
Montenegro.
Ahead of the EBRD Annual Meeting in Belgrade on 22 and 23 May, the Bank has
drawn attention to the Western Balkans through a series of seminars aimed at
addressing key needs of this region. In November 2004 a seminar in Zagreb
addressed the development of municipalities, while transport was tackled in
Sarajevo in December. Following his meetings in Montenegro, Mr Lemierre will
travel to Tirana on 10 February for the third seminar, which will focus on
energy. The final seminar in Skopje, focusing on private sector financing,
will be held on 14 March.
The EBRD is the largest investor in Serbia and Montenegro, with more than €663
million committed in over 34 projects in sectors ranging from agribusiness to
banking and energy to supporting entrepreneurs. Working with partners from the
public and private sector, the Bank has mobilised more than €1.2 billion in
additional investments. To help support its projects in Serbia and Montenegro,
the EBRD has received around €22 million in Technical Assistance funds from
countries and institutions including the EAR, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Switzerland and the U.S. The European Investment Bank, EU, and other investors
have co-financed projects worth around €290 million.
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