European development bank inks pact with CII

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has joined hands with top industry body CII to increase investment and cooperation between the former and Indian firms in the regions where the lender is active.

EBRD Vice-President Phil Bennett and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee signed an agreement to this effect today, the bank said in a statement issued from London.

"It is very important for us to bring the expertise of Indian corporations to the support countries that are still making the transition to market economies," Bennett said.

The EBRD countries of operations would benefit from the transfer of skills from world-class Indian companies. On the other hand, EBRD will be happy to share its strong local knowledge with firms that were either moving into the EBRD regions for the first time or which want to expand their operations there, the statement said. The EBRD has already had a number of successful investments in cooperation with companies here.

The bank has so far invested over 870 million euros together with Indian firms. The EBRD was established in 1991 to support transition to market economies of countries in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.