Feature story

EBRD hosts 13th Annual Meeting in London

Subscribe to feature stories email alerts

Related links

Uk Prime Minister Tony Blair will address the Annual Meeting

This weekend Franz Krejs will attend his eighth EBRD Annual Meeting. As manager of an Austrian venture capital firm with millions of euros invested across central Europe, he returns time and time again to the EBRD annual gathering to make contacts and get all the information he needs on this region.

Dr Krejs is one of around 2500 guests – from government officials and business people to journalists and members of non-governmental organisations – attending the EBRD’s 13th Annual Meeting and Business Forum on Sunday and Monday. Here, 27 countries from central Europe to Central Asia are the centre of attention.

The Business Forum, which starts Sunday, will provide panel discussions on the very latest economic, political and business developments in the region. The panels include figures such as George Soros, globally-known business figure and founder of the Open Society, who will discuss whether natural resources build strong economies. Other Forum topics include home-grown growth (the region investing within itself); small business; corporate social responsibility; and competition/unfair trade practices.

Individual country presentations also kick off on Sunday, with a regional presentation by the Baltic states that morning.

Monday is the core of the EBRD Annual Meeting, when the Board of Governors meets to reflect on the Bank’s activities in the previous year, and guide its work moving forward. Many challenges remain for this Bank.

The accession of eight EBRD countries to the European Union is cause for celebration while also leading the Bank to reflect on how to help these countries to further develop and achieve western European living standards.

With a renewed focus on the least advanced countries of the region, the EBRD will add resources and take more risk in the poorest countries having difficulty attracting foreign direct investment.

The two-day event will cater for all participants. For some, the main focus may be the Jacques de Larosiere closing lecture on Monday evening, delivered by by Daniel Yergin. Mr Yergin is an energy expert, geopolitical analyst and author of The Prize, a history of the global petroleum industry. For others the focus could be the opportunity to meet EBRD bankers and Board members or to take part in the two-day NGO programme.

As Dr Krejs says: “It is an opportunity to speak with key players in the region, especially the EBRD. It’s also an opportunity to speak with others. They could be future business partners.”

Contact:
Kate Dunn
Senior Writer, Communications Dept.
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
Tel: +44-207-338-6930

16 April 2004