By Inese Bujane
With a view to maintaining close contacts with the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) officials as well as addressing organisational
problems of the Annual Meeting of the EBRD Board of Governors to be held in Riga in May
2000, Selga Laizane, Director of Birojs 2000 and Janis Naglis, Director General of
the Latvian Privatisation Agency visited the EBRD Headguarters in London between 15 - 16
July. They had a meeting with Antonio Maria Costa, EBRD Secretary General, Kari Nars, EBRD
Executive Director for Latvia, Norway and Finland, and other EBRD officials assisting in
organising the Board of Governors' Meeting in Riga.
Because of the need to launch a new tender for providing information
technologies for the Annual Meeting next May, the meeting with the EBRD expert in this
field George Kurczij proved most productive. It was decided that the EBRD information
technology experts visit to Riga would shortly be arranged in order to consult Birojs
2000 specialists and assist in organising the tender.
The meeting between Latvian representatives and Gilbert Sabathe, EBRD
Assistant Secretary General, Stefania Ball, Conference Co-ordinator and Protocol Expert
was also of great significance. Events to be included in the EBRD Governors' social
programme were specified: a concert at the Latvian National Opera, a charity concert at
the Riga Dome Cathedral and other events. The specialists also came to terms as regards
the programme designed for the EBRD Governors' spouses. Selga Laizane admits these two
days spent in London to have been very successful indeed, since several issues have been
settled and important agreements reached. Among the most important to be mentioned is the
forthcoming visit to Riga of Antonio Maria Costa, EBRD Secretary General, and Kari Nars,
the EBRD Executive Director, at the end of August or beginning of September as well as
logistics missions of the EBRD specialists and experts to Riga - the working visit of an
expert on audiovisual equipment between 21 - 22 July, a three-persons expert commission on
information technologies to advise the Birojs 2000 staff between 26 - 30
July, but the visit of protocol experts is scheduled for September or October.
