Odile Renaud-Basso, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, on Thursday pledged the institution’s “continued support” for Georgia's economic advancement in the wake of the bank’s investment of €4.9 billion in 270 projects in the country, the Georgian ministry of economy said.
After a meeting with Georgian economy and finance ministers and the deputy minister of regional development and infrastructure in Tbilisi early on Thursday, Renaud-Basso said 79 percent of the overall investments had been used for funding the Georgian private sector.
The bank will continue to support the private sector of Georgia so that it can better benefit from the agreement on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Union. In this regard, the bank will continue to use the already proven tools, which will help Georgian manufacturers to export the produce made in the country to the EU market and to establish themselves in the market”, the economy minister cited the EBRD official as saying.
Expressing support for further development of large, medium and small energy projects in Georgia, Renaud-Bassosaid said the bank was also interested in the development of the Georgian transport infrastructure.
The bank will also support both public agencies and the private sector to upgrade their competences. It was noted that the fruitful cooperation between Georgia and the EBRD will continue, considering new priority areas of cooperation”, said the ministry press office.
In her recent interview, Renaud-Basso pledged support for the Georgian government to turn the country into a logistics hub by strengthening intra-regional connections amid increased demands on alternative routes connecting Europe with Asia on the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.