May 18 (SeeNews) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) said it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Serbia for the appraisal of 1.0 billion euro ($1.2 billion) in investments in the country.
The document was signed during the Western Balkans Summit in the Bulgarian capital Sofia focused on connectivity issues in transport, energy and digital infrastructure, including mobility and inclusion, the EIB said in a statement late on Thursday.
In addition, the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed guarantee agreements for a total amount of 180 million euro with Credit Agricole Banka Srbija and UniCredit Bank Serbia to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country, the EIB said.
The Credit Agricole agreement, providing 50 million euro to innovative SMEs and mid-caps, was signed under the European Commission’s InnovFin initiative, backed by the EU's research and innovation programme Horizon 2020. Under this agreement, the lender will be incentivised to provide 50 million euro of loans to 120 innovative SMEs and small mid-caps on more favourable terms.
The second transaction, which brings an additional 130 million euro of loans to 3,500 SMEs, is an increase of the existing Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) Loan Guarantee Facility (LGF) agreement with UniCredit Bank Serbia.
EIB has been active in the Western Balkans for over four decades, and since 2007 it has provided finance worth 7.5 billion euro for projects in the region, said EIB President Werner Hoyer.
"This reflects our strong commitment to upgrading key connectivity infrastructure and helping the private sector create jobs. The guarantee agreements signed today with banks in the region demonstrate our strong support for entrepreneurship and innovation. Our work improves people’s lives all across the Western Balkans."
The goal of the Sofia summit was to build stronger connections within the Western Balkans and with the EU to tackle common challenges in security, migration and geopolitics. The EIB is already strongly committed in all these fields, with a special focus on the migration crisis. The lender launched the Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI) in 2016 in response to the migration crisis by offering extra support for projects that fill gaps in social and economic infrastructure, foster private sector growth and create jobs.
Through the initiative, the EIB has already offered nearly 700 million euro in financing in the Western Balkans, and the bank will soon strengthen its presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania, it said.
($ = 0.846257 euro)
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