SARAJEVO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), will host the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's (EBRD) 28th Annual Meeting and Business Forum in May 2019, the bank's President Suma Chakrabarti confirmed here on Tuesday.
During their meeting the same day, the Chairman of BiH's Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic expressed gratitude to Chakrabarti and the EBRD team for the continuous flow of investments, emphasizing that the bank's 2019 Annual Meeting will bring together a great number of potential investors.
"In the last 20 years, EBRD has been one of the largest investors and creditors in BiH, with a portfolio higher than 2 billion euros. In this moment, the realization of 60 projects is underway," Zvizdic said, adding that 82 percent of the projects are directed towards infrastructure as a base for country's economic development.
Zvizdic highlighted the implementation of a series of reforms in key areas, as well as visible progress in economic development and in the country's path towards Euro-Atlantic integration, according to a press release by the Council of Ministers.
"Every meeting with the EBRD is extremely important, because they, in all of their future long-term plans, see BiH and the Western Balkans as a destination for further investments," Zvizdic told reporters after the meeting.
Zvizdic concluded by saying that in 2018, the EBRD opened over 380 million euros (434.3 million U.S. dollars) worth of infrastructure projects, and this is seen as a tremendous help.
Chakrabarti praised the preparations for the Annual Meeting and said that the EBRD will continue to invest in sustainable energy projects, strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises and improve the process of setting up private and public partnerships, which will contribute to improving the investment climate in BiH and the region.
During the meeting, the interlocutors spoke about the political and economic situation in BiH, and about the technical issues related to the organization of the EBRD's 2019 Annual Meeting.
The 2019 Annual Meeting is considered one of the most important events in BiH and the region. Some 2,000 people are scheduled to attend, including 67 EBRD governors and several businessmen and investors from all over the world. The two-day meeting will also include a session of the EBRD's Board of Governors, a business forum and various events for civil society representatives.
