The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sir Suma Chakrabarti will make his first official visit to Armenia on 18 July, during his tour of South Caucasus countries.
Over the two-day visit Sir Suma is to meet with Armenian government officials, including the President, Serzh Sargsyan; the Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan; the Minister of Economy and Armenia’s Governor to the EBRD, Vahram Avanesyan; the Minister of Finance, Davit Sargsyan; the Mayor of Yerevan, Taron Margaryan; the Chairman of the Central Bank, Artur Javadyan; and representatives of local partner banks and businesses.
Sir Suma's visit to Armenia coincides with the 20th anniversary of the commencement of EBRD activities in Armenia. The Bank will mark this occasion with a press conference on Friday 19 July at 17:30 in the Elite Plaza building in Yerevan to be followed by a reception.
The EBRD has been active in Armenia since 1993, where it has invested over €656 million across 120 projects. Based on the current EBRD country strategy for Armenia approved in May 2012, the Bank’s key priorities are: to develop the financial sector and improve access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); to improve municipal and transport infrastructure; to develop agribusiness and high value-added industrial companies; and to support sustainable energy and mining projects with high standards of environmental and social protection. In 2012, the EBRD signed 15 projects in Armenia totaling €94 million.
Sir Suma was elected EBRD President in 2012 and assumed the role on 3 July 2012, becoming the sixth President of the Bank. Earlier, he held the post of Permanent Secretary at the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice and previously occupied the same post in the Department for International Development. A graduate of Oxford and Sussex universities, Sir Suma worked in the UK government from 1984 and was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.