The Deputy Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zlatko Lagumdžija received in Sarajevo today the Director of the Constituency of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Austria, BiH, Israel, Kazakhstan, Cyprus and Malta Johannes Seiringer.
On this occasion, Director Seiringer spoke to Lagumdžija, who is also the governor of BiH in EBRD, that along with a delegation of members of the Board of Directors of the EBRD to stay in BiH with the goal to prepare a Strategy of EBRD for BiH and Croatia for the period of 2013-2015.
Lagumdžija thanked Director Seiringer for the visit and stressed the importance of the activities of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in BiH.
He expressed his gratitude for the implemented projects/investment banks in BiH, thereby emphasizing that the EBRD in BiH has invested around 1.5 billion euros through 100 projects with a focus on infrastructural development, support of small and medium-sized businesses and strengthening of the financial sector.
In this regard, Lagumdžija assessed that the EBRD in the next period would place a particular emphasis on the business sector (financing small and medium-sized businesses, provision of credit lines, privatization of state businesses, post-financing and reconstruction, real estate, agro-business), key reforms in the financial sector (banking supervision, legislation on insurance and leasing, pension reform), strengthening current energy potential and strategic orientation towards exports, sector infrastructure (political and strategic transport, functional separation of railway sector, financing roads, energy strategies), development of tourism, and the development of the furniture industry given the potential of BiH.
As one of the successful examples of cooperation of BiH and the EBRD, Lagumdžija and Director Seiringer highlighted the example of the construction of Vijenac tunnel (1. March) on Corridor 5-C, where local construction companies have shown that they are reliable partners and that they could deal with the most complex construction challenges.
Lagumdžija and Director Seiringer spoke of the current BiH-UK investments and the trade forum that will be held on 18. April in London and the annual meeting of EBRD that will be held from 10-11 May 2013 in Istanbul under the motto “Innovating for Growth”.
