EBRD annual meeting, business forum to be held at Dead Sea in May

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Secretary General Enzo Quattrociocche to host the bank’s 27th Annual Meeting and Business Forum, scheduled to be held at the Dead Sea May 9-10, 2018. 

The EBRD annual meeting is expected to bring around 2,000 visitors to the Kingdom including government representatives, businesspeople, policymakers, academics and opinion leaders, Fakhoury said during the signing ceremony. 

Under the title “Energising Economies”, this year’s edition of the event will host discussions on global challenges such as supporting economic growth, combating climate change and strengthening the business environment in the regions where the EBRD invests, in addition to a diverse schedule of parallel events including the Business Forum and the Annual Donors’ Meeting.

“Energising Economies” will be the first EBRD annual meeting in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, according to the minister. 

Fakhoury appreciated EBRD’s decision to select Jordan as the host country for the annual meeting, noting that “this move affirms the bank’s confidence in Jordan’s security and regulatory capacities and our readiness of infrastructure in various fields”.  

“Jordan is proud to be the first country in the SEMED region to host the meeting,” the minister continued, noting that “this event is an opportunity to shed light on what the Kingdom has to offer, and on the model of resilence that Jordan has established over the past in spite of the regional challenges.”

In addition, Fakhoury expressed that Jordan’s relation with the EBRD is “a true success story,” noting that “the bank has provided Jordan with over $1 billion supporting 36 projects across key sectors such as transport, renewable energy and water”.

For his part, Quattrociocche noted that “the EBRD annual meeting is an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to our countries of operations and to energise their economies”, expressing that the bank looks forward to come to Jordan to “intensify the work with the country and the region”.

“Holding our event in Jordan brings up opportunities to show the country’s attractiveness as a business hub, as well as the EBRD’s contribution to strengthening its resilience in a region that faces multiple challenges,” Quattrociocche concluded.

The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh, who affirmed that “Jordan’s hosting of the EBRD’s meeting will contribute to highlighting the Kingdom as a land for investment opportunities,” adding that “it will help create economic and investment partnerships for the Jordanian private sector”.

He stressed that the Jordan Investment Commission seeks to make the most of this event to promote investment in Jordan through the presentation of brochures and promotional materials for the benefits and incentives granted to investors in Jordan.

During the annual meeting, the commission will conduct a virtual tour of some development and industrial zones and tourist sites for the participants, according to a Planning Ministry statement. 

Since it was founded in 1991, EBRD invested over 119.5 billion euros in more than 5000 projects across its countries of operations. 2017 was another year of rising investment and delivery — the fourth since 2014. Total annual EBRD financing across all economic sectors rose to a new record of 9.7 billion euros in 2017, from 9.4 billion euros in 2016, according to the statement.

The bank has added on its website a link to the annual meeting of the 27th Governing Council and the 2018 Business Forum: www.ebrd.com/am, the statement said.