Developments prove EBRD’s crucial roles

Turkish Deputy PM Ali Babacan

Turkish Deputy PM Ali Babacan. DAILY NEWS photo / Selahattin SÖNMEZ

I am very happy that the 22nd Board of Governors Meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is being held in our country.

The EBRD has provided important support for the development of entrepreneurship and the process of transition to the market economy in countries where it has been active for the past 22 years.

The EBRD provided for nearly 80 billion euro in financing for more than 3,600 projects so far, having some 77 percent of the total used by the private sector. With its financial support and experience in economic transformation, the EBRD has turned into an important actor.

Turkey has become the second largest investment partner of the bank due to the 1 billion euro financing in 2012.

As of the end of 2012, the amount of financing provided for Turkey by the bank totaled 2.5 billion euros. Some 894 percent of the total was provided for the private sector while the rest went to municipalities without a Treasury warranty.

During the annual meetings, we will evaluate the 2012 activities of the bank and suggest a perspective about its corporate structuring for the upcoming period.

In particular, we appreciate the efforts launched to reform the corporate structure that started with new EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti taking his seat. We expect the evaluations and the exchange of ideas during the meetings will offer precious support to these efforts.

Besides, within the scope of the Host Country Investment Forum, three parallel sessions will be held on gender equality, turning Turkey into a center of business and investment, and the Istanbul Finance Center, along with numerous bilateral talks. I hope the two-day meeting will achieve successful results.