EBRD Board Directors to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina

Representatives of the EBRD Board of Directors will arrive in Banja Luka Sunday evening for a three-day visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Starting their stay in the Republika Srpska the Board Directors will travel on to the capital Sarajevo for meetings with the central authorities. In addition, they will meet business representatives, civil society organisations and visit EBRD projects. The visit takes place in preparation of a new EBRD country strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The document, which is due later this year, will set out the Bank’s priorities for the period 2017-2021. The current document defines increased support for the private sector, forging closer linkages with wider regional markets and promoting a more efficient and sustainable use of resources as the main goals.

The Board delegation visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina will include:

• Zbigniew Hockuba, Director, Poland, Bulgaria, Albania;
• Ove Jensen, Director, Denmark, Lithuania, Ireland, Kosovo;
• Heinz Kaufmann, Director, Switzerland, Ukraine, Lichtenstein, Turkmenistan, Serbia, Montenegro, Moldova;
• Johannes Koskinen, Director, Finland, Norway, Latvia;
• Johannes Seiringer, Director, Austria, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Kazakhstan, Bosnia & Herzegovina;
• Klaus Stein, Director, Germany;
• DragoĹź Andrei, Alternate Director, Turkey, Romania, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyz Republic;
• Pablo GasĂłs, Alternate Director, Spain, Mexico;
• LászlĂł Havas, Alternate Director, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovak Republic, Croatia, Georgia; and
• Arnar Másson, Alternate Director, Sweden, Iceland, Estonia.

The Board Directors representing the Bank’s shareholders will be hosted by Ian Brown, EBRD Associate Director, Head of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and accompanied by Holger Muent, Director, Regional Head of Western Balkans and Oleg Levitin, Deputy Director, Governance and Political Affairs. Following the adoption of a far-reaching “Reform Agenda €ť by Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 the EBRD has been able recently to expand its investments in the country to €200 million in 2016. In total, the Bank has invested €2 billion in 137 projects in the entire country to date. This accounts for some 20 per cent of total EBRD investment in the Western Balkans.

From Bosnia and Herzegovina the Board Directors will continue their journey to Albania where their arrival is expected Wednesday, 29 March, late afternoon.