Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 18 / Trend A.Badalova/
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested 8.7 billion euros in its traditional area of operations in 2012, financing an unprecedented 388 individual projects, EBRD reported on Friday.
According to the Bank's report, EBRD projects hit record high level in 2012. In 2011 EBRD invested 9 billion euros in 380 projects.
According to the EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti, with a record number of investments, the Bank has proven once again to be a reliable partner. "It will continue to work hard to help restore a path of sustained economic growth in the future," Chakrabarti said.
Last year the EBRD also launched its expansion into the southern and eastern Mediterranean, making commitments worth 181 million euros in six projects. The Bank has begun investing in Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia, supporting the process of economic modernisation in the wake of political changes in the Middle East and North Africa, the report said.
By 2015, the Bank expects to be investing up to 2.5 billion euros a year in new regions.
The EBRD is aiming to invest 4 billion euros in Central, Southern and Eastern Europe in the next two years, as part of a wider joint action plan together with the World Bank and the European Investment Bank.
In 2012 EBRD invested one billion euros in Turkey,
Investments under the EBRD's Sustainable Energy Initiative, which finances energy efficiency projects and promotes the development of renewable energy sources, totalled an estimated 2.3 billion euros, accounting for 26 percent of total EBRD financing in 2012.