By Svitlana Pyrkalo @pyrkalo
The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso, will visit Albania on 10-12 April 2022.
This is Ms Renaud-Basso’s first visit to the country since she became EBRD President in late 2020, when travel was restricted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The EBRD President will meet with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to discuss further investment and the Bank’s support for reforms in the country. She will also meet with Minister of Finance and Economy Delina Ibrahimaj, who represents Albania on the EBRD Board of Governors, Governor of the National Bank of Albania Gent Sejko and Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj.
“I am looking forward to my first visit to Albania and to continuing our support, particularly for the development of renewable energy and Albania’s tourism and agriculture sectors, together with the EU and other partners,” President Renaud-Basso said ahead of the visit.
Albania relies almost entirely on hydropower for its energy supply, and the President will discuss diversification projects in the sector with private investors. Another focus for the EBRD in Albania is increasing SME access to finance and skills through cooperation with local banks. During the visit, a new risk-sharing facility of €20 million(US$21.74million) will be signed with ProCredit Bank Albania.
On 1 April, ahead of the visit, President Renaud-Basso held a virtual meeting with Albanian civil-society representatives.
To date, the EBRD has committed nearly €1.8 billion to projects in Albania. In 2021, EBRD investment in the country exceeded €200 million.
The Western Balkans is a priority area for the EBRD, which supports not only national development, but also regional economic integration, both with neighbouring countries and trading partners in Europe more broadly.
The Bank has so far invested more than €15 billion in the Western Balkans region and continues to invest more than €1 billion there each year.
The previous meeting between EBRD President and Prime Minister Rama, as well as the heads of government of other countries in the region, took place on February 28 at the Western Balkans Investment Summit 2022 at EBRD headquarters in London. The summit’s main interactive panel, including the six heads of government of the region, can be viewed online.
