EBRD and Jordan sign Memorandum of Understanding for 2018 Annual Meeting

Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Imad Fakhoury, and EBRD Secretary General, Enzo Quattrociocche, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the organisation of the Bank’s 27th Annual Meeting and Business Forum, which will be held from 8 to 10 May 2018 at the Dead Sea.

Under the title Energising Economies, the event will provide an opportunity to discuss global challenges such as supporting economic growth, combating climate change and strengthening the business environment in the regions where the Bank invests.

The EBRD Annual Meeting is a unique event, typically bringing together around 2,000 participants including government representatives, business people, policy-makers, academics and opinion leaders. In addition to the meeting of the Board of Governors, it will also include a diverse schedule of parallel events, such as the Business Forum (including a session on the host country’s investment outlook), a programme for civil society organisations, and the Annual Donors’ Meeting.

It will be the first EBRD Annual Meeting in the Bank’s newest region, the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED), in which Jordan is a leading business hub. Jordan joined the EBRD in 2011 and became a country of operations in 2012.

Minister Fakhoury said: “Jordan is proud to be the first in the SEMED region to host the EBRD Annual Meeting. Hosting the meeting in Jordan is also an opportunity to shed light on the opportunities that the country can offer as well as on the model of resilience that Jordan has established over the past few years, in spite of the regional challenges. Jordan’s work with the EBRD has been a true partnership and a success story. The Bank’s portfolio here has exceeded US$ 1 billion, of which 88 per cent is in the private sector, and we have a very promising pipeline in key sectors such as transport, renewable energy and water.

EBRD Secretary General Quattrociocche added: “The EBRD Annual Meeting is the yearly meeting of the Bank’s shareholders and is an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our countries of operations and to energise their economies. We look forward to coming to Jordan to intensify our work with the country and the region.

“Holding our event in Jordan is an opportunity to show the country’s attractiveness as a business hub and the EBRD’s contribution to strengthening its resilience in a region that faces multiple challenges.”