LONDON, Dec 19 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on Wednesday visited the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, where he held talks with the Bank's president Jean Lenierre and addressed
representatives of the Bank's shareholders.
LONDON, Dec 19 (Hina) - Croatian President Stjepan Mesic on
Wednesday visited the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) in London, where he held talks with the Bank's
president Jean Lenierre and addressed representatives of the
Bank's shareholders.#L#
Mesic, who is on a four-day visit to Great Britain, was present at
the signing of a contract between the EBRD and the Uljanik shipyard
from the northern Adriatic town of Pula, whereby the Bank with EUR15
million guarantees the building of a 47,000-tn oil tanker.
During the talks with Mesic, Lenierre praised Croatia's progress in
establishing market economy and hailed two consecutive years of
economic growth, the Bank said in a statement. He stressed the
Croatian economy should open to foreign investments even more.
According to Bank data, Croatia expects US$470 million of direct
foreign investments in 2002, as against US$870 million in 2000 and
US$1.45 billion in 1999.
So far, the EBRD has signed 36 projects with Croatia, in which the
Bank participates with EUR916 million, thus supporting EUR2.8
billion worth of investments in Croatia. The Bank said the past 12
months had been the most successful in cooperation with Croatia. It
is expected the Bank will allocate around EUR300 million for
various projects in the country.
The EBRD was established in 1991 in order to encourage the
transition to market economy and private and business initiatives
in countries of Central and Eastern Europe and in former Soviet
Union states.
Among the most important projects the EBRD is participating in
Croatia this year are contracts with the VIPnet mobile network and
the Vetropack bottle production factory. As for significant
infrastructure projects, the EBRD is involved in the building of
the Zagreb-Rijeka motorway and a liquid waste management plant in
Zagreb.
Lenierre said the Bank would work together with Croatia, taking
advantage of this year's momentum and strengthening the market
economy. He added that one of the most important priorities for
Croatia would be privatisation, particularly in the tourist
sector, the Bank statement read.
(hina) np sb