By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso addressed the 2024 Western Balkans Investment Summit, Tuesday, saying time was ripe for the strength of Western Balkans to be recognized.

Renaud-Basso delivered her address to Prime Ministers, Government Members, representatives of the business world, among others at  the EBRD headquarters, London. The rest of her address is reproduced below:

It gives me great pleasure to open the sixth Western Balkans Investment Summit at the EBRD.

I am especially glad to be able to host you for the first time in our new headquarters.

Some of you attended the historic Summit in this same format, which took place – with all regional Prime Ministers present – ten years ago.

Since then, we have reconvened every other year.

We may need to reflect on how often we gather in the future, not least because there are now many Western Balkans Summits – which is a good thing! 

In any case, now, a decade on from our first event, is a good time to take stock of what we have achieved together.

The 2014 Summit effectively launched the “Western Balkans Six” process at the level of Prime Ministers.

Regional cooperation in this new format, in a region with a very difficult history, is now the norm.

Western Balkans Prime Ministers have frequent meetings focused on many topics.

And this sends a strong message to the rest of the world: that this region has reached new levels of maturity and stability.

Indeed, I would argue that such intensifying cooperation is one of the region’s great achievements of recent times.

And it is especially important given the memories of its turbulent past.

And also in the light of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine and growing geopolitical tensions and political fragmentation elsewhere.

Such cooperation is also a testament to the vision of the Region’s leaders.

Let us all listen carefully to the Prime Ministers as they explain their countries’ priorities for regional projects later on.

I expect that you will hear a high degree of convergence between them.

Progress in coordination between the Western Balkans countries has been matched by better cooperation with and among international donors, the European Commission and the international financial institutions.

The result is a visible strengthening of the way we pool resources in support of regional projects, primarily under the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

Under the leadership of the European Commission, better coordination has allowed many more important regional transport and energy projects to be prioritised.

We at the EBRD look forward to working closely with the European Commission and the governments of the region in implementing the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

This EU initiative has the potential to be a real game-changer in the region, providing new impetus for much-needed investments and reforms.

We support the new Growth Plan’s approach of bringing forward some benefits of EU membership before accession.

We also welcome the increased focus on reforms associated with the Plan. This is particularly important for the EBRD because support to reforms is at the core of our transition mandate. Transition is not only about financing and investments, it  needs to be sustained by efficient policies and economic frameworks.

We have promoted regional integration by delivering several cross-border infrastructure projects that increase the free flow of commerce, competitiveness and opportunities for export growth.

Last week, the EBRD Board approved and later today I will sign on the margins of this Summit the railway project connecting Albania with Montenegro.

But there is more to regional integration than physical infrastructure. Further trade integration with the European single market is a key objective.

The Common Regional Market, promoted by the EU, would also offer substantial benefits for the region’s countries and investors.

The region offers great potential for investors with:

a.     favourable corporate income tax regimes,

b.    a competitive labour force,

c.     and the clear prospect of integration into the European Union.

The region’s people are well educated, highly skilled and many are talented entrepreneurs.

I have noticed this myself on my many trips to the region.

During my four years as EBRD President – and despite the pandemic –  I have visited every Western Balkan country.

As the largest IFI in the region, we have invested more than 18 billion euros there – and a record 1.63 billion euros(US$1.77billion) last year.

We intend to continue scaling up our activities in the Western Balkans, leveraging on our network of 6 offices and 150 professionals on the ground to help countries to deliver on reforms and investments, particularly in the areas of green transition, skills, inclusion and digitalization.

The region has come a long way in the last decade, but there is still a big gap between it and the European Union.

According to a new EBRD study on its convergence with EU living standards, it could take between 40 and 70 years – or even longer – to close this gap.

These are sobering findings.

Critically, to speed up convergence, we need to combine our funding with private capital.

So we have been working with other international financial institutions and the European Commission to develop ways of doing exactly that, not least for major regional infrastructure projects, whether through PPPs or by attracting private investment into the energy sector.

We are doing everything we can to unlock more investment in the region.

But we can attract much more of it, if reforms are implemented.

Such reforms represent one of the most reliable ways of reenergising growth and transition.

And there is a need for much stronger administrative capacity to absorb the support available to the region.

In my opinion, the region should focus on three priorities.

First, Western Balkans countries must accelerate their green transition. Further investment in renewable energy, as well as in electricity grids and greater energy efficiency, would help strengthen the region’s resilience to future energy shocks and its economic competitiveness.  It is especially important if the region wants to keep pace with the ambitions set by the EU and to maintain a smooth access to the Single Market.

We are proud of the support we are providing to countries in the region to scale up solar and wind power generation through auctions to allocate capacities to investors.

We are really pleased with the results that Albania and Serbia, in particular, have achieved in terms of securing competitively priced energy and attracting experienced international investors.

We are looking forward to extending this support to other countries in the region, this year and beyond.

At COP28, I was pleased to lead a consortium of international banks and agencies to join with the government of North Macedonia in launching their Just Energy Transition Investment Partnership.

This will support the country in mobilising necessary investment to transition away from old, polluting coal to a modern, competitive, low cost renewables-based energy system.

Second, standards of public governance should be improved, by reforming state-owned enterprises, fighting corruption and leveraging digital technology. These reforms are key to instil trust, to protect economic stability and to attract foreign investments.

Third, the region needs to be even more open to trade and investment. Deeper integration in global value chains is key for improving competitiveness and innovation. At a time of new trends and challenges in globalisation, there are opportunities that the Western Balkans countries  -with their proximity to EU markets, and their competitive advantages – can seize with the proper frameworks.

The EBRD has been and will be a strong partner for all Western Balkans countries and our EU partners in this reform agenda.

The Western Balkans countries have been part of the EBRD’s success story almost since the Bank was born.

We have led the way on investment in the Western Balkans.

And we are determined to help create the climate and conditions for even more.

Today is another opportunity for us to recognise the region’s many strengths.

And then, together with investors, to turn those strengths into real progress for its economies and, most importantly, its people.

Thank you.