EBRD President makes first visit to Turkey
EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso made her first official visit to Turkey, virtually, on 3 and 4 May. She met representatives of central and municipal authorities, businesses, local banks, international financial institutions, the diplomatic community and civil society. Meetings focused on Turkey’s post-Covid-19 recovery and EBRD investments to support it.
Istanbul joins EBRD Green Cities
The President’s visit saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, formalising the admission of Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, to the flagship €2.5 billion EBRD Green Cities urban sustainability programme. The Bank and municipality will work together to implement sustainability measures that will benefit the city’s 16 million people.
EBRD and Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology strengthen cooperation
Another highlight of the EBRD President’s visit was a video conference marking a strengthening of cooperation with Turkey’s Ministry of Industry and Technology. President Renaud-Basso and Minister Mustafa Varank are intensifying efforts to facilitate innovative investments via the Technology-Focused Industry Movement, consolidating incentives to promote investments in technology and skills and providing a single-window system for investors.
“Sustainable growth must be achieved”
The EBRD President’s visit attracted strong media interest. She spoke to Anadolu Agency and Bloomberg International. In a television interview with Bloomberg HT, President
Renaud-Basso evaluated how the Covid-19 outbreak affected the private sector worldwide and in Turkey. “In 2020, we invested 1.7 billion euros in Turkey; 93 percent of our support goes to the private sector. We also supported the banking sector and SMEs. The important thing in 2021 is that sustainable growth must be achieved. For investment, predictability in inflation is important. We will finance green projects, renewable energy, waste water management and the automotive industry."
EBRD Literature Prize 2021: Finalists announced
Three novels have been shortlisted for the fourth EBRD Literature Prize, a €20,000 award launched in 2017 by the EBRD, in collaboration with the British Council:
- The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili, translated by Elizabeth Heighway (Peirene Press) Country: Georgia.
- The King of Warsaw by Szczepan Twardoch, translated by Sean Gasper Bye (Amazon Crossing) Country: Poland.
- Mr K Released by Matei Vişniec, translated by Jozefina Komporaly (Seagull Books) Country: Romania.
The winner will be announced on 1 June.
Learn more here, here and here
Survey: energy chiefs tell EBRD how they see sector recovering post-Covid-19
Energy leaders responding to a survey by the EBRD, investigating how the sector will deal with the 5 per cent fall in global energy demand brought by Covid-19 in 2020 and summarised in a Covid-19 policy note, indicated they are confident of a quick recovery.
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Project signings
Helping rural businesses in Mongolia
In Mongolia, micro and small enterprises, including those in rural areas, will get more chance to grow their business, despite the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to the latest agreement between the EBRD and the local lender Transcapital NBFI to provide MNT 10 billion (€2.9 million equivalent) of loans across this sparsely populated east Asian nation.
Improving water supply in Kyrgyz Republic
Residents of the city of Nookat in the Kyrgyz Republic will have access to safe drinking water and better sanitation thanks to the latest water-supply improvement project financed by the EBRD and the European Union (EU) and Japan: a joint €4.2 million investment, including a 15-year EBRD loan of €2.2 million and an EU capital grant of €2 million.
Donors
The EBRD and EASST launched a training toolkit with resources to enhance the effectiveness of post-crash emergency medical and rescue operations, with support from UK aid through the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility.
EBRD in the news
Ahead of the Delphi Economic Forum in Greece, EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso spoke to Proto Thema and its financial edition “New Money” on the EBRD’s priorities in Greece, the Bank’s green agenda and support for the Greek private sector, and gender inclusion.
EBRD in social media
The EBRD promoted some of its 2021 Annual Meeting panellists.
The Bank on its deal with Mongolian lender Transcapital, supporting micro businesses in rural areas.
