The FINANCIAL — A delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is visiting Taipei today for a conference with Taiwanese business to discuss opportunities for cooperation in the countries where the Bank invests.
The conference, entitled “EBRD Investment Forum – We Invest in Changing Lives”, includes country presentations about Turkey from EBRD Managing Director Jean-Patrick Marquet; on Poland by Regional Director Grzegorz Zieliński; and on Jordan and Kazakhstan by Business Development Director Philip ter Woort.
In his introductory remarks, Pierre Heilbronn, EBRD Vice President, Policy and Partnerships, said: “The EBRD and Taiwanese businesses are long-standing partners. There are many lessons the EBRD countries of operations can learn from the Taiwanese model. The Taiwanese donor relationship has also been important for our work and impact in our countries of operations. We are grateful for the support we receive for activities like the EBRD Advice for Small Business and the Women in Business initiatives.”
Richard Wu, Vice President of the Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co, reported about the “Taiwanese experience in the EBRD region”. The company is preparing to introduce its smart toll system in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EBRD has been instrumental in bringing the parties together.
EBRD-Taiwanese cooperation is a long-standing partnership that began in 1991. To date, EBRD-Taiwanese investment jointly stands at almost €1.5 billion. In addition, a total of €36.5 million has been provided for technical cooperation and multi-donor funds, with important support provided to the Bank’s technical cooperation projects in sustainable resource management, intelligent transportation systems, knowledge economy as well as the corporate sector, according to EBRD.
An example of EBRD-Taiwanese cooperation is support for the SME Growth Market Project, a joint initiative by the Zagreb Stock Exchange and the EBRD, and co-funded by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, that promotes the development of, and access to finance for, small and medium-sized enterprises.
The business development visit to Taipei is taking place while the EBRD is also engaged in two other business development activities this week: one visit is exploring smart city technologies and sustainable development, and another aims to boost cooperation between Taiwanese food processing businesses and potential counterparts in Ukraine, Georgia and south-eastern Europe.
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