Foreign Minister Emma Bonino met Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), at the Farnesina today, 9 September 2013. Their discussion focused on EBRD investment in the countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean: Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. The Minister and the EBRD President agreed on the need for the international community to continue its efforts to pave the region’s way to stable democracy.
Minister Bonino underscored the EBRD’s crucial role as a “resource catalyst” for the economic development of countries like Jordan, which is experiencing serious social pressures as a result of the constant influx of refugees. Chakrabarti cited Egypt as a country affected by social unrest which relegates it to playing the role of “Potential Country of Operations” pending developments arising from the road map.
Italy’s firm support for the work of the EBRD in the regions where it has traditionally operated, such as Eastern Europe and the Balkans, was underscored by Minister Bonino. She noted the success of the Central European Initiative (CEI) fund run in conjunction with the EBRD and entirely financed by Italy to the tune of €36.5 million since 1992. The fund provides financial support for technical cooperation (feasibility studies and consultancy) and know-how transfer projects in the non-EU countries of the CEI (Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine).
