Deals inked in EBRD annual meeting in various fields

By Gokhan Ergocun

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina (AA) - The annual meeting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) saw several agreements inked to invest in and finance projects on Thursday.

The EBRD Annual Meeting and Business Forum was held under the theme of “Connecting Economies for Stronger Growth” in Bosnian capital Sarajevo this year.

As part of the annual meeting, the European Bank, the EU and attending banks signed agreements in various fields, such as energy, agriculture, construction, and transport.

The 2019 event focused on ways to "connect economies for strong growth and impact, both in the Western Balkans and beyond," according to its website.

Among the deals signed was a €210 million ($235 million) worth loan agreement between the EBRD and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The deal will finance a motorway project to ease the connection between the Western Balkans and the rest of Europe.

Another agreement was signed among the EBRD, the EU, and Tunisian pharmaceutical firm Teriak -- 11.7 million Tunisian dinars ($3.9 million) loan and €0.5 million ($0.56 million) grant deal for boosting technical substructure and competitiveness of the firm.

The European Bank also inked an agreement with ICBC Turkey bank and Turkish conglomerate Arkas Holding to provide $30 million loan for financing a cargo terminal and rail port in Turkey's industrial province Kocaeli.

Separately, an agreement for a €7.3-million ($8.2 million) financing package -- a compound of loan and investment -- was signed among the EBRD, the EU, Kuwait's Ahli Bank, and Egyptian frozen fruit and vegetable exporter Farm Fresh.

Earlier, the EBRD and participants, including Moroccan e-payment firm S2M and Turkish energy company IC Ictas, signed several loan and investment agreements during the event.

At the three-day event, which started on Tuesday, some 3,000 attendees -- experts, officials, businesspeople, environmental specialists, and entrepreneurs -- have discussed topics such as global trade, blockchain, digitization, tourism, and migration.

Established in 1991 to facilitate the reconstruction in Central and Eastern Europe after the Cold War, to date the EBRD has since made investments worth over €130 billion ($145 billion) in around 5,200 projects.