BELGRADE (Serbia), February 18 (SeeNews) – The first vice president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Jurgen Rigterink, will visit Montenegro on February 18 and 19 to explore opportunities for further investments and policy engagement, the bank said.
Rigterink will emphasise the bank’s support for the country’s aspiration to become a member of the European Union, the EBRD said in a statement last week.
The three main strategic priorities of EBRD for Montenegro are to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector by investing in selected companies with excellent growth potential, especially in the tourism, trade and agribusiness sectors; emphasise the importance of green growth through projects focussing on renewable energy and energy efficiency and security, in line with the Bank’s Green Economy Transition approach; and further integrate Montenegro into the regional and European economies by improving connectivity and expanding cross-border transport and energy links, the bank said.
The strategy will require the country to invest heavily in infrastructure, which includes not only roads, airports and railways but also municipal infrastructure such as waste management, water supply and treatment and health and education.
The EBRD said it is keen to support these investments in cooperation with the EU and the Western Balkans Investment Framework. To date, the bank has supported 58 projects in Montenegro with a cumulative business volume of 567 million euro ($640.8 million).
($ = 0.884861 euro)