by Nibal Zgheib (EBRD.com)

Algeria has become the 73rd shareholder of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) by completing the membership process.

Algeria has expressed its wish to become a country in which the Bank engages with investment and support for policy reforms. Preparations for this step can now begin.

EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso said: “We are happy to welcome Algeria as our latest shareholder and look forward to working together and discussing the next steps of our joint cooperation, notably for Algeria to become a recipient of the Bank’s operations.”

We also look forward to the country becoming a recipient of the Bank’s operations – a step that will enable us to apply our know-how and experience to help develop the private sector, promote sustainable energy supplies and enhance the quality and efficiency of the country’s infrastructure.”

Algeria applied for EBRD membership in March 2020 and the Bank’s Board of Governors subsequently voted in favour of the request. The membership process has now been completed with a formal exchange of documents.

Algeria is located in the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, where the EBRD already invests and provides support for policy reform in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, as well as the West Bank and Gaza.

To date, the Bank has invested almost €15 billion in 305 projects across the SEMED region in natural resources, financial institutions, agribusiness, manufacturing and services, as well as infrastructure projects such as power, municipal water and wastewater and the upgrading of transport services.

Original text was publishd on www.ebrd.com