EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti and Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg ©2017 Cour grand-ducale /tous droits réservés
Trip to prepare EBRD Annual Meeting and step up business links
EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti held a day of meetings in Luxembourg on 1 February, discussing the Bank’s current priorities with the leadership of a country which is an important shareholder and a leading donor in support of EBRD projects.
The EBRD President had meetings with Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna, who is Luxembourg’s Governor at the EBRD.
Mr Gramegna will chair the EBRD’s Board of Governors’ discussions at the Bank’s Annual Meeting this year in Cyprus and the talks this week were an opportunity to prepare for the May 9-11 conference.
The meeting with the Grand Duke provided an opportunity to discuss the long-standing cooperation between the Grand Duchy and the EBRD. President Chakrabarti expressed gratitude for Luxembourg’s commitment to the Bank and its important contributions as a core partner and founding shareholder.
Sir Suma also thanked the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of Luxembourg for the country’s continued strong engagement as an investor and donor, especially in areas as legal transition, gender and inclusion support and the promotion of policy reform.
Luxembourg has committed more than €40m in donor funds to back up the Bank’s activities, making it one of the EBRD’s most generous donors per capita. It is, for instance, a major donor to the Bank’s successful “Women in Business” programme which supports women-led small businesses in many countries where the Bank invests.
The visit to Luxembourg also provided an opportunity for the EBRD to step up its links with Luxembourg businesses. Sir Suma made a speech to the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, where he outlined the Bank’s activities and highlighted the opportunities for increased cooperation with Luxembourg firms.
At the end of 2016, the value of joint investments between the EBRD and Luxembourg firms stood at €4.75 billion, with EBRD finance accounting for €3.17 billion and Luxembourg investment for €1.58 billion.
