OREANDA-NEWS. July 17, 2013. The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Sir Suma Chakrabarti, makes his first official visit to Azerbaijan, during his tour of South Caucasus countries.

The visit to Azerbaijan coincides with the 20th anniversary of EBRD activity in the country, and the relocation of the Bank’s Resident Office in Baku to the Landmark-3 business centre. The office was previously sited in Landmark-1.

During the visit Sir Suma will meet with Azerbaijani officials, including Minister of Economic Development, Shahin Mustafayev; Minister of Finance, Samir Sharifov; Deputy Prime Minister, Abid Sharifov; and Governor of the Central Bank, Elman Rustamov. He will also meet representatives of the business community and civil society.

The EBRD plans to adopt a new country strategy for Azerbaijan in December 2013, which will focus on three main goals: to diversify the economy, develop the banking sector and improve the quality of corporate governance.

To date, the Bank has invested more than EUR2.1 billion in the Azerbaijani economy, mobilising an additional EUR 5.3 billion from other funding sources.

Sir Suma Chakrabarti was elected EBRD President in 2012 and assumed the role on 3 July 2012, becoming the sixth President of the Bank. Earlier, he held the post of Permanent Secretary at the UK Ministry of Justice and previously occupied the same post in the Department for International Development. A graduate of Oxford and Sussex universities, Sir Suma worked in the UK government from 1984 onward and was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.