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EBRD's 2005 Annual Meeting: Building bridges, promoting prosperity

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Flags outside the Sava Centar.

Signs going up in Belgrade.

The EBRD’s 2005 Annual Meeting gets underway in Belgrade

About 3000 participants – official delegates, business guests, Bank employees, speakers, NGO representatives and journalists – converge on Belgrade 22-23 May 2005 for the 14th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors and the Business Forum.  

Building bridges, promoting prosperity is the overall theme of this year’s meeting and one main topic of discussion will be regional co-operation as a necessary prerequisite for economic growth and stability.

On Saturday 21 May, the government of Serbia and Montenegro will host an investment forum. Donors working with the EBRD will meet with Bank staff to discuss projects and progress, particularly regarding the Bank’s new Early Transition Countries Initiative for the seven poorest countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States. An all-day workshop will examine ways of promoting information and communications technologies in the EBRD region.

Prime Ministers to speak

On Sunday 22 May, the Board of Governors Opening Session includes addresses by Prime Ministers from south-eastern Europe (Serbia and Montenegro, FYR Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania) as well as speeches by EBRD President Jean Lemierre and the Chair of the Bank’s Board of Governors, Karl-Heinz Grasser. Earlier in the day the Prime Ministers and Messrs Grasser and Lemierre are meeting in a closed-door session with business leaders from south-eastern Europe to discuss furthering the economic transition of the region.

The Business Forum also starts on Sunday 22 May, with discussions on regional co-operation, energy efficiency, urban planning and combating corruption, and women in business and government. Other panels will discuss the development of capital markets of south-eastern Europe; opportunities and risks for investment and growth in south-eastern Europe, and making courts more efficient. The discussion panels will be complemented by informative presentations about many of our countries of operations.

The programme for non-governmental organisations includes topics of concern to civil society and business organisations, including the EBRD’s forthcoming new energy policy, environmental issues, and opportunities for building small and medium-sized enterprises.

This year’s closing Jacques de Larosière lecture on Monday will be given by Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy and, most recently, Chairman of the International Commission on the Balkans. And with a number of cultural and social events organised by our hosts and major Business Forum sponsors – Raiffeisen International, BankAustria Creditanstalt, Banca Intesa – there really will more than enough going on to keep even the most fatigued business guests or official delegates interested, intrigued and engaged.  

20 May 2005