The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sir Suma Chakrabarti will make his first official visit to Armenia on 18 July, during his tour of South Caucasus countries.
Over the two-day visit Sir Suma is to meet with Armenian government officials, including the President, Serzh Sargsyan; the Prime Minister, Tigran Sargsyan; the Minister of Economy and Armenia’s Governor to the EBRD, Vahram Avanesyan; the Minister of Finance, Davit Sargsyan; the Mayor of Yerevan, Taron Margaryan; the Chairman of the Central Bank, Artur Javadyan; and representatives of local partner banks and businesses.
Sir Suma’s visit to Armenia coincides with the 20th anniversary of the commencement of EBRD activities in Armenia. The Bank will mark this occasion with a press conference on Friday 19 in Yerevan to be followed by a reception.
The EBRD has been active in Armenia since 1993, where it has invested over €656 million across 120 projects. Based on the current EBRD country strategy for Armenia approved in May 2012, the Bank’s key priorities are: to develop the financial sector and improve access to finance for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs); to improve municipal and transport infrastructure; to develop agribusiness and high value-added industrial companies; and to support sustainable energy and mining projects with high standards of environmental and social protection. In 2012, the EBRD signed 15 projects in Armenia totaling €94 million.
