Speech by Minister of State Robert Troy at EBRD Stakeholder Engagement Day

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Good morning to you all. I am delighted to be here today and welcome you all to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development stakeholder engagement day in conjunction with our colleagues from Enterprise Ireland and IBEC.

I’d like to thank First Vice President of the EBRD, Mr. Jurgen Rigterink, for coming to Dublin today and to welcome him and his team to this morning’s event. Jurgen has been instrumental in guiding the Bank to what it has accomplished since he joined the EBRD in 2018. I would also like to thank Brendan O’Connor, Ireland’s Director on the Board of the EBRD, for joining us today and to our colleagues at Enterprise Ireland for hosting us in their facilities here at Eastpoint Business Park.

As Minister of State in the Department of Finance, I am very pleased to see this engagement and I hope that many of you here today from various sectors across the economy will learn more about potential opportunities and gain useful insights in to how you might successfully engage with and tender for contracts in countries of operation that the EBRD operates in. We really appreciate the time and commitment you are providing to us today.

For those that may not be as familiar with the EBRD, and I apologise if you have heard this already today, it was established in 1991 to provide finance to help build market economies in ex-Warsaw Pact and Soviet Union countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

It has since expanded its operations to areas ranging from Sub-Saharan Africa all the way to Central Asia. The EBRD has a specific private sector focus, and I am aware of how it provides finance and equity for banks, industry and businesses, both new and existing entities. Harnessing the power of the private sector builds the right enabling environment for prosperity.

Based in London, it is an important member of the family of Multilateral Development Banks around the world and delegates may be interested to know that the value of joint Ireland-EBRD investment stands at €8.30 billion to date.

Ireland was most happy to be a founding member of the Bank and has played an active role in the Bank’s evolution since those early days. We believed then in the importance of multilateralism and the role that multilateral development banks can play within the global financial system and we continue to believe in it now. Indeed I was in Belfast last week engaging with industry and political representatives, and the cross border cooperation we have at present is a prime example of how a multilateral approach can work to deliver growth in an economy.

I wholeheartedly believe that multilateralism and full and open international engagement, like with the EBRD here today, remains the most effective method of addressing shared global challenges. This was demonstrated in our coordinated tackling the Covid-19 pandemic, to our efforts on climate change, to our ongoing consideration of forced displacement and our united condemnation of the illegal invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine.

In terms of Ukraine, I would like to commend the work of the EBRD who are the MDB experts in the region. The dedicated general capital increase of €4 billion, which I understand has just reached the required threshold to become effective, is hugely positive and will be quickly put to much-needed use. Ireland was an early subscriber to the capital increase and we considered this to be an important demonstration of our support for Ukraine and will, most importantly, be used to kick start reconstruction efforts once conditions allow.

By the end of 2024, I understand the Bank had deployed more than €6 billion in Ukraine since February 2022. This has been particularly important in the context of supporting the Ukrainian economy to continue to function during the war, and I was pleased to hear that Ireland provided funding to the Bank at the end of 2023 to support small businesses in Ukraine through the Small Business Impact Fund. This fund has proven to be an effective and vital tool for supporting the Bank’s comprehensive approach to SME growth and development.

I am also very pleased to hear about the expansion of the EBRD’s operations to the six sub-Saharan countries this year. This should present substantial opportunities for investment and demand for financing, and I would encourage as much Irish attention to this as we can, not least in my own area of financial services. It is worth noting that this expansion coincides with Ireland participating as a guest country under South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 and the Bank’s expansion to Sub Saharan Africa this year fits very much into the agenda of the Presidency. It is the government’s aim to engage proactively at the G20 to showcase the value that we can bring to the table.

In addition, Ireland will hold the rotating Presidency of the EU Council for the second half of next year. This will be a significant time for our country to help lead and shape European policy while we hold the role.

I can assure you that Ireland will use these platforms and continue to work with multilateral institutions such as the EBRD to build on our strong track record of responding to global development challenges, and it is my hope that those gathered this morning will see themselves as part of that work.

The focus of today, of course, is how best we all can learn to leverage the opportunities for Irish firms to work for, and provide services to, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This event will give you the opportunity to acquaint, or indeed re-acquaint, yourself with the EBRD procurement landscape. It will give you the chance to learn about how this landscape continues to evolve, as we move through these heightened periods of geopolitical tension.

My officials and I are acutely aware, that while Ireland does not do as well as some of our similarly sized European neighbours with regard to the promotion of the IFIs like the EBRD and how Irish companies can benefit from their procurement opportunities. We do know, however, that there is space for improvement, and we hope that organising and implementing further stakeholder engagement days like this one in the future would significantly help.

It is crucial to recall the importance that IFI contracts like ones from the EBRD can provide as an initial stepping stone for Irish companies into new overseas markets, offering a defined and transparent procurement process that can facilitate export market diversification. The promotion of IFI tendering opportunities aligns with the aims of the government’s Trade and Investment Strategy 2022-26: Values for Ireland, Values for the World. This strategy sets out the government’s plan to see Ireland grow sustainably and to help diversify and deepen our export markets as we look towards a green, resilient and inclusive future.

To conclude, the EBRD plays a critical role in supporting the development of successful market economies through its unique business model combining financing, advice and policy reform in the countries it operates in. The impact of the EBRD in developing and implementing measures to meet its founding articles in its countries of operation has been significant. Its work, in partnership with governments and businesses in these countries, have transformed the lives of millions of people for the better.

It is clear there are significant opportunities for Irish businesses and I encourage you to engage proactively with MDBs like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, bring forward some Irish innovative solutions, whether it be as a subcontractor or as a large multi-national business on a project. We can partner together to tackle global challenges and to bring about long-term sustainable development.

We are in the midst of a new normal in terms of trade, and by that I mean a new normal which will be uncertain and unpredictable. But we are not defined by a singular trade approach or location, and there is opportunity in new markets, to build new relationships, and tackle future issues.

We at the Department of Finance are delighted to have a resident Irish director, Brendan O’Connor, at the Bank Headquarters in London until 2027. Brendan is doing an excellent job and I can reassure you that he will support and follow through on all you hear today.

So just to wrap-up, I sincerely hope that the seeds planted today sprout new ideas, new ways of thinking and new connections for you and your companies. Again, I encourage you to network and engage with opportunities today and I wish you the best in your endeavours.

Thank you!