This week Riga will welcome the participants and guests of the Annual
Meeting of the Board of Governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD). A little more than two years ago, on 16 January 1998, following the EBRD Executive
Directors’ recommendation, majority of the Bank’s Board of Governors (97.48%) approved
the Resolution stipulating the organisation of the ninth Annual Meeting of the Board of
Governors in Riga, the capital of Latvia. In London, in June 1998, Roberts Zîle, the then
Minister of Finance of Latvia, and Antonio Maria Costa, the EBRD Secretary General, signed
the Memorandum of Understanding on the organisation of the Meeting in Riga. After that,
the preparations for the Meeting were commenced. In April 1998, the Ministry of Finance
launched a tender for the right to organise the EBRD Meeting, and the PR Unit of the
Latvian Privatisation Agency (LPA) was announced the successful bidder. In August 1998,
SIA Birojs 2000, the Meeting’s Co-ordination Centre was established (hereinafter
– Birojs), recruiting the employees of the LPA PR Unit, who had developed the
tender proposal. A month before that – in July – the Supervisory Committee for the
Meeting’s organisation was established to supervise the organisation processes and make
strategic decisions. Roberts Zîle, Minister for Special Assignment for Co-operation with
International Financial Agencies is the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee, which
comprises the State Secretaries of the ministries involved in the organisation of the
Meeting, as well as representatives of other institutions engaged, e.g., Riga City
Council, international airport Riga and State Tourism Development Agency.
Seeking subcontractors for refurbishing the Meeting’s venues and for
rendering services necessary for the EBRD Meeting, Birojs has launched 23 tenders
and performed approximately 300 price surveys within nearly two years. While preparing for
the Meeting, Birojs developed a special sponsorship and marketing programme,
enabling to attract entrepreneurs’ support for the organisation of the Meeting, thus
saving state budget funds.
The Meeting in Riga is also notable for the fact that for the first
time other EBRD member countries help to cover the expenses related to the organisation of
the EBRD Meeting. Owing to the support of Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden, the
Nordic-EBRD Fund for Riga Meeting was established, and each of the four countries
contributed EUR 100 000 for the organisation of the ERAB Meeting in Riga. The major local
sponsor is the Volkswagen centrs Riga, who sponsors 90 cars and 30 minibuses for
the EBRD Meeting.
To provide appropriate premises for the Meeting, considerable
investment was made in the reconstruction of several buildings. Reconstruction, renovation
and restoration work was performed in six buildings: Riga Latvian Society House,
University of Latvia, Riga Congress Centre, Arsenâls Art Museum, Small
Guildhall, and the front steps of the State Museum of Art were reconstructed. Overall,
about 3.6 million lats were allocated within the State Investment Programme for the
refurbishing of the buildings. Also Riga municipality has made investments in several of
the above buildings; of those, about 2.5 million lats were invested in Riga Congress
Centre.
“I am really happy for the fact that a year and a half ago, when
thinking about the Meeting’s venues, we declined the idea of temporary structures, and
decided on investment in unique buildings of Riga’s historical heritage instead. The
EBRD Governors and guests will leave in a week. However, the restored hall in the Small
Guildhall and Arsenâls Art Museum premises, and the Congress Centre extension will
remain here,” said Roberts Zîle, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for the
Organisation of the Meeting and Minister for Special Assignment for Co-operation with
International Financial Agencies. “Investment in the restoration of the buildings is not
directly related to the Meeting; however, in a way it can be said that the EBRD has
facilitated the refurbishing of some unique buildings in Riga.”
Roberts Zîle, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for the
Organisation of the EBRD Meeting expressed his belief that Latvia will be able to
demonstrate its readiness to organise international events of such scale and scope as the
EBRD Board of Governors' Meeting. Approximately 2500 participants and guests of the
Meeting will visit this country, including Governors of the 60 EBRD Member Countries and
prominent officials from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission.
Contact person:
Vija Kasakovska, Project Manager, SIA Birojs 2000
Tel. + 371 7043619 or 9488681
SIA Birojs 2000, the Co-ordination Centre of the EBRD Meeting
in Riga would like to acknowledge the support for the Meeting by the following companies:
Nordic Fund (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden) for EBRD Annual Meeting in Riga, Volkswagen
centrs Riga, Lattelekom, Unibank of Latvia, Vilniaus Bankas, Eesti
?hispank, airBaltic, SAS, Parex Bank, Microsoft Latvia, Latvijas
Mobilais Telefons, the Bank of Latvia, Culture Capital Foundation, LB Kiel,
Nordic Investment Bank, Ericsson Latvia, Latvijas Dzelzceďđ, More Group
Baltic & Russia, Latvian Shipping Company, Rigas Fenikss, Latvija Statoil, Kolonna,
Baltic Fund 1 L.P., women’s wear TEV, Radio SWH, LNT.
