AKIPRESS.COM - Representatives of the Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) are visiting the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan and will arrive in Astana on Sunday.

During their stay the Directors will meet Prime Minister Karim Massimov, Minister of Finance and EBRD Governor Bakhyt Sultanov, the Minister of Economy and other government representatives. The delegation will also meet with the Governor of the National Bank and governors of key regions where the EBRD invests, representatives of state holdings Samruk-Kazyna and Baiterek, civil society organisations and private businesses.

Johannes Seiringer, Board Director for Austria, Israel, Cyprus, Malta, Kazakhstan and Bosnia and Herzegovina, will be host director. The EBRD Board participants will be:

• Anthony Bartzokas, representing Greece and Portugal
• Raphael Bello, representing France
• Zbigniew Hockuba, representing Poland, Bulgaria and Albania
• Johannes Koskinen, representing Finland, Norway and Latvia
• Antonio Oporto, representing Spain and Mexico
• Frans Weekers, representing Netherlands, Mongolia, FYR Macedonia, Armenia and China.

Natalia Khanjenkova, EBRD Managing Director for Turkey and Central Asia, will head a group of senior Bank management representatives who will be joining the visit together with the Board Directors.

The delegation will also spend a day in Almaty before travelling on to Tajikistan.

The EBRD is a leading investor in Kazakhstan under an enhanced partnership agreement. To date, the Bank has committed more than €6.7 billion through more than 215 projects in the country. The Bank’s strategy in its region of operations, including Kazakhstan, is to strengthen countries’ economic resilience, promote regional integration and address global challenges through a focus on diversification and support for the non-resource sector, balancing the role of the state and the market, and promoting low-carbon growth and energy efficiency.