On 24 and 25 May 2023, the WBIF Project Financiers' Group (PFG) met in Brussels. The strategic session of the meeting was co-chaired by Holger Schröder, Head of Unit Western Balkans Regional Programmes, Economic Investment Plan at the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, and Matteo Rivellini, Head of Division at the European Investment Bank. The meeting was attended by about 90 representatives from international financial institutions, EU Member States and Norway bilateral donors, and representatives from the six Western Balkans economies.

The beneficiary partners updated on the state of play of the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan in their territories, notably investments in public infrastructures financed through WBIF. The participants discussed the role of WBIF as a platform to implement policy priorities and reforms through investments, in particular, in areas of strategic importance such as transport and energy. The International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Investment Bank shared their experiences with crowding-in private investments in view of advancing the socio-economic convergence of the Western Balkans with the EU.

The WBIF Project Financiers' Group meets every six months in advance of the WBIF Strategic and Operational Boards for blending operations, whose next meeting is scheduled on 29 and 30 June in Oslo, hosted by Norway. In June, the Boards will decide on new flagship investments in the areas of transport, energy, environment and private sector development to advance on the implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.

The WBIF Secretariat presented the recently published Communication and Visibility Guidelines and Plan 2023-2024 for even more coordinated stakeholder actions.

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