Meetings planned with government, business, civil society and international partners
By Jelena Pajic
Representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Board of Directors will visit North Macedonia from 12 to 16 October 2026.
The visit is part of a regular series of consultations and will give shareholder representatives an opportunity to meet senior government officials, representatives of the business and banking communities, international partners and civil-society organisations. The Directors will also visit private-sector companies supported by the Bank.
The EBRD Board will be represented by:
René van Hell, Director for the Netherlands, China, North Macedonia, Armenia and Mongolia, and host of the visit
Liliana de Sá Kirchknopf, Director for Switzerland, Ukraine, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Montenegro and Turkmenistan
Magali Cesana, Director for France
Alicia Varela, Alternate Director for Spain, Mexico, Iraq and Senegal
Luca Lazzaroli, Director for the European Investment Bank
Brendan O’Connor, Director for Ireland, Denmark, Lithuania, Kosovo and Kenya
Tamas Vojnits, Director for Hungary, Czechia, the Slovak Republic, Croatia and Georgia
Umberto Bernardo, Alternate Director for Italy
Filippo Munisteri, Alternate Director for the European Union.
The delegation will be accompanied by Divya Chawla Jindal, Principal, Board and Institutional Affairs; Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Managing Director for South-Eastern Europe; and Oleg Levitin, Head of Political Affairs.
During their visit, the EBRD representatives will meet Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski. Meetings are also planned with representatives of the ministries responsible for energy, the environment, finance and foreign affairs, as well as with the Mayor of Skopje and representatives of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia.
The programme will include discussions with civil-society organisations on governance, transparency, competitiveness, European Union accession, the green transition, gender equality and economic inclusion. The Directors will also exchange views with local companies, entrepreneurs, commercial banks, diplomatic representatives and international development partners.
The delegation will visit clients Varus and Makprogres, where Board representatives will meet with company management and learn more about the firms’ operations, development plans and cooperation with the EBRD. The visit to Makprogres will include a tour of the company’s research and development centre and new wafer production facility.
The EBRD has invested almost €3.2 billion(US$3.6billion) in North Macedonia to date through 219 projects. Its current priorities are to strengthen regional integration and connectivity, accelerate the transition to a green and sustainable future, and support a more competitive, inclusive and well-governed economy.
