Vice President for Policy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development(EBRD), AndrásSimor, will visit Chisinau and Tbilisi on 12 and 13 June to underscore the Bank's commitment to Moldova and Georgia as the two countries prepare for greater regional integration.
Vice President Simor will address local and foreign investors at the EU-led conferences held on the occasion of the visits by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to the two capitals.
The conferences will focus on business activity and investment in Moldova and Georgia as the two countries prepare to sign Association Agreements with the European Union which will include creating Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (AA/DCFTA).
The conferences will address what the agreements mean for Moldovan and Georgian businesses. They will also provide a platform for companies, local and foreign investors and international financial institutions to showcase their products, services and activities in the two countries.
Speaking ahead of his visits, Vice President Simor said: "Creating Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with the EU opens up an important new market to Georgian and Moldovan companies. To become more competitive on regional markets, including the EU, businesses will need to adopt higher production and quality standards and improve their corporate governance, business planning and financial management as well as enhance energy efficiency. The EBRD, with more than twenty years of experience in both countries, is committed to supporting businesspeople and companies – through investment, know-how and dialogue with the government – and to help them make the most of the new market opportunities."
As in most countries where the EBRD invests, in Georgia and in Moldova the Bank is the largest institutional investor. Since 1991, the Bank has invested just under €3 billion in almost 300 projects which help both countries advance to open-market economies. The EBRD has placed a specific emphasis on supporting private sector development and has successfully partnered foreign and local investors and mobilised further funding in the two countries.
The Bank has been actively engaging with the Georgian and Moldovan authorities to promote reforms aimed at improving the investment climate and creating conditions that support private sector activity.

EBRD press-release