The EBRD Board of Governors' Annual Meeting was one of the most important financial forums of the year. 2600 participants, including delegations from 59 countries, delegations of the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, as well as 1200 business guests took part in the 2000 Annual Meeting. About 250 representatives of the local and foreign media were accredited.

At the EBRD Board of Governors' Annual Meeting in Riga, Jean Lemierre was elected the President of the Bank. The Riga meeting was also notable due to the fact that Mongolia became the 61st shareholder in the Bank.

Along with the EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting, which took place at the Riga Congress Centre, the EBRD organised the Business Forum at the Riga Latvian Society House and the main building of the University of Latvia, where the EBRD thematic seminars and presentations of the EBRD countries of operation were held.

During the EBRD Meeting, two charity concerts were held at the Riga Dom and the Latvian National Opera.

Organisation of the Meeting
Seeking contractors for refurbishing the Meeting's venues and for rendering services required for the EBRD Meeting, Birojs 2000 launched 23 tenders and conducted 300 price surveys within nearly two years.

To provide appropriate premises for the Meeting, substantial investment was made in the reconstruction of several buildings. Reconstruction, renovation and restoration work was performed in six venues: Riga Latvian Society House, University of Latvia, Riga Congress Centre, Arsenals Art Museum, Riga Centre of Culture and Folk Art Small Guildhall and the State Museum of Art. Within two years, a total of 6.75 million lats were spent on the reconstruction and renovation of the Meeting's venues, including 3.68 million lats allocated within the State Investment Programme and 3.07 million lats invested by the Riga municipality.

Of the 2.1 million lats allocated from the state budget, a total of 1.5 million lats were spent on the organisation of the Meeting. As a result of the marketing and sponsorship programme developed by Birojs, resources and services worth 640 971 lats were attracted to the organisation of the EBRD Annual Meeting and the Baltic Business Conference in Riga.

After the Meeting, on 15 June 2000, Mr. Roberts Zile, Minister for Special Assignment for Co-operation with International Financial Agencies, presented the awards of recognition to Selga Laizane, SIA Birojs 2000 Director, and Janis Reiniks, Head of the Security Police for the successfully organised Annual Meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors.

Upon presenting the awards of recognition, R.Zile expressed gratification for the successful choice of selecting the organiser of the Meeting via the tender, and emphasised that the Meeting proceeded smoothly and only positive reviews had been received about its procedure.