OREANDA-NEWS. October 19, 2011. The EBRD’s Board of Directors has adopted a new 3-year strategy for Latvia which outlines the Bank’s key priorities for supporting the country’s future development, reported the press-centre of EBRD.  

Latvia is among most advanced transition countries in the EBRD region. However the scale of the impact of the economic crisis on the Latvian economy has exposed areas that require a further acceleration of reforms and where the EBRD can be of support.

Latvia’s remaining transition challenges include strengthening the competitiveness of Latvian enterprises, improving further the business environment and completing the privatisation agenda. Addressing these would help the country realise its growth potential.

The EBRD will continue to support Latvia’s main priorities, which include enhancing capital investment and developing more technology and skill-intensive products, supporting export-oriented manufacturing and investment in infrastructure. The Bank will also support investments in energy security and energy efficiency, with special focus on the municipal and industrial sectors as well as renewable energy generation.

The Bank stands ready to provide the necessary support to strengthen the stability of the Latvian financial sector and to facilitate credit recovery, and will support the development of private equity and mezzanine capital financing, particularly for small and medium-sized companies.

The EBRD will underpin its activities through policy dialogue with the Latvian authorities to promote further progress in strengthening corporate governance, particularly in unlisted and state-owned enterprises, increase transparency and encourage the development of public-private partnerships.

To date the EBRD has committed over EUR 570 million across 76 projects in energy, infrastructure, industry and financial sectors of the Latvian economy.