EBRD President Renaud-Basso on virtual visit to Turkey

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso will pay her first official visit to Turkey on 3 and 4 May in a virtual format for meetings with the government, the private sector and civil society.

As travel and in-person meetings continue to be disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the EBRD President will make use of digital platforms, which have profoundly reshaped ways of working and international relations over the past year.

During her engagement, she will meet with representatives of central and municipal authorities, businesses, local banks, international financial institutions and members of the diplomatic community and civil society. The meetings will focus on Turkey's post-Covid-19 recovery and the EBRD investments to support it.

Speaking ahead of her meetings, President RenaudBasso said: "Turkey, like many other countries where we invest, is challenged by the ongoing pandemic. Bringing the health crisis under control will trigger an economic rebound. The EBRD is prepared to mobilise all tools at its disposal and to use the Bank's creative capacity to help the Turkish economy in this rebound." As part of the EBRD's commitment to helping build back better and greener economies, President Renaud-Basso will sign, in a video conference with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem ?mamo?lu, a Memorandum of Understanding that will formalise the process of Turkey's largest city joining the EBRD Green Cities programme. The Bank and the municipality of Istanbul will work together to implement sustainability measures that will benefit the city's population of 16 million people.

The EBRD President will also sign an accord with the Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank to boost innovation in competitive sectors such as machinery, electrical equipment, electronics, mobility, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Turkey, with offices in Istanbul and Ankara and 100 staff on the ground. To date the Bank has invested more than €13 billion in the country, with 96 per cent in the private sector. In 2020 the Bank responded to the Covid-19 pandemic by stepping up its financing in the country to €1.7 billion from €1.0 billion in 2019.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are improving the sustainability and efficiency of Tajikistan's energy sector by financing power-distribution grid upgrades in the Khatlon region of the country.

A financing package of €35 million will provided to Shabakahoi Taksimoti Bark (STB), a state-owned power utility responsible for electricity distribution in Tajikistan. The financing will consist of a €20 million sovereign loan provided by the EBRD and a €15 million investment grant provided by the EU under its Investment Facility for Central Asia (IFCA). The funds will be used for the modernisation of the power distribution networks in the cities of Kulob and Bokhtar and in adjacent territories. The financing will also help introducing billing and metering infrastructure and upgrade STB's workshops.

As part of the project, STB, in cooperation with domestic educational establishments, will develop professional training schemes for local young people.