News and Events

World Bank Activities in Greece in 2004

Haleh Bridi, World Bank Special Representative to the European Union, attended the Halki International Seminar on transatlantic cooperation as a factor of stability : "Forging Regional Cooperation" on June 12-14 and chaired a panel on "Promoting democracy in the wider region of the Middle East and SEE: The role of the International Community". For more information on Halki International Seminar, click here.

Carlos Braga, World Bank Senior Advisor to the International Trade Dept. was present in Athens on May 19-21, 2004, to attend the 14th World Congress on Information Technology 2004 (WCIT 2004). On this occasion, Mr. Braga delivered a speech E-democracy & E-government.

Orsalia Kalantzopoulou, World Bank Country Director for Western Balkans, and Biagio Bossone, Executive Director for Italy, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Albania, San Marino and Timor Leste, were present in Athens on May 5-7, 2004, to attend the Economist conference. Mr. Bossone participated to a panel on "Great Expectations for 2004: A Year of Optimism? " while Mrs. Kalantzopoulou participated to a panel on "What are the major challenges facing the Balkans".

The Second Forum on Poverty Reduction Strategies for the Balkans—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro / Kosovo, and FYR Macedonia—was held in Thessaloniki, Greece, from March 29-31, 2004. All of these countries are now carrying out their own national poverty reduction strategies, so the Forum provided an opportunity to share experiences in implementation. It allowed participants to focus on common challenges being faced in terms of setting policy and expenditure priorities and in making progress towards meeting PRSP objectives. Discussions focused on policies to promote macroeconomic stability, liberalize trade, reduce corruption and strengthen the rule of law. Another area of focus was social policies to enhance human capabilities and provide effective social protection. For more information,click here.

World Bank Activities in Greece in 2003

"Good Governance - Impact on Investment and Growth in Southeast Europe" was the theme of the latest conference of the "Towards European Integration" network organized jointly by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the World Bank. The conference, held in Thessaloniki, Greece on November 6-9, 2003, was organised in collaboration with the Center for Applied Policy Research, Munich and ELIAMEP, Athens. James Anderson, Senior Economist, World Bank, spoke on "Corruption in Enterprise-State Transactions 1999-2003" and Harry Broadman, Lead Economist, World Bank, addressed the issue of "Institutional Reform for Investment and Growth in Southeast Europe."

On November 6, 2003, Warren Evans, Environment Sector Manager, World Bank spoke to a group of graduate economics students at the University of Athens on the topic of sustainable economic development. Evans was in Athens to participate in the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives World Congress (November 3-7).

The World Bank South East Europe Country Team held its Business Retreat in Thessaloniki, Greece, on November 2-4, 2003. The delegation, headed by World Bank Country Director Orsalia Kalantzopoulou and comprised of over 70 country and sector staff, discussed the Bank’s work program in the region for the coming years. To learn more about the World Bank’s activities and programs in S.E. Europe please read the interview Ms. Kalantzopoulou gave to the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini (link to Greek and English text). The team had several meetings with Greek authorities and partners, including a roundtable discussion on business opportunities in the region with George Zanias, Secretary General of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, Dimitrios Simeonidis, President, Federation of Industries of Northern Greece, and Dimitrios Bakatselos, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Thessaloniki. Ms. Kalantzopoulou was also received by the Mayor of Thessaloniki Vasilis Papageorgopoulos.

Eric Chinje, World Bank Senior Communications Officer for Africa, was in Athens on October 22-26, 2003 to inaugurate the ‘A Day in the Life of Africa’ photo exhibit and to develop links between the World Bank and Greece on Africa. The photo exhibit was launched with the Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyanni at the City of Athens Cultural Center. Chinje delivered a speech on "Africa and the International Community" to a gathering of diplomats at a reception hosted by the Mayor of Athens on the occasion of UN Day. In addition, Chinje gave a lecture on African Development Challenges at the Charokopeion University of Athens and made remarks at a meeting of heads of Greek civil society organizations

The "A Day in the Life of Africa" exhibit is a collection of photos that attempt to visually capture the grandeur of Africa’s landscape, the richness of its culture, and a full day's worth of work and play, life and death, struggle, hopes, and dreams. All the profits from the "A Day in the Life of Africa" publication are directed to the Day in the Life of Africa AIDS Education Fund, which supports on-the-ground AIDS-education programs on the African continent.

The sixth international 'Globalism And Social Policy Programme' seminar was held in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 18-20, 2003. The theme of the seminar was "Globalisation, Regionalisation, and the Making of Social Policy in South Eastern Europe." Paula F. Lytle, World Bank, spoke on the Social Development Initiative for SEE, while Michal Rutkowski, World Bank, detailed Priorities in Social Protection in South Eastern Europe.

Andreas Galanakis, Counselor for Greece, participated in a South-East European Research Centre conference entitled: "The Greek Presidency's Balkan-European Integration Process: Where do we go from here?" on July 5, 2003, in Porto Carras, Halkidiki, Greece.

Indira Konjhodzic, Country Manager for the World Bank Croatia Office, participated in the conference "SEE and the Mediterranean: The Need for a Mutual Learning Process" organized by The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) in Athens and in cooperation with the Bertelsmann Foundation in Guetersloh and the Centre for the Study of European Politics and Society at Ben Gurion University, Beersheva. The seminar was held in the framework of the Halki International Seminars 2003 on the Dodecanese island of Halki (close to Rhodes) on September 4-8, 2003.

The World Bank participated in the 'Hellenic Water Week' on June 17-20, 2003 in Athens, Greece, jointly organised by the Greek Presidency of the European Union and the European Commission.

Orsalia Kalantzopoulos, the new Country Director for the Western Balkans, met with Greek government authorities on May 8-9 to discuss collaboration in Southeast Europe.

On May 6-7, the World Bank and the Greek government (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Environment) organized a forum on "Sustainable Development for Lasting Peace: Shared Water, Shared Future". The forum bring together leaders and experts from the Europe and Central Asia region for a thematic review of opportunities and constraints related to the transboundary management of freshwater, coastal, and marine resources. The Conference’s works were closed with the adoption of the “Athens Declaration”. For more information... The Greek pressreported extensively this event.

Zafeiris Tzannatos, World Bank Senior Advisor to the Managing Director, was present in Athens on March the 28th, 2003, to  present the new  World Bank Report “Unions and Collective Bargaining: Economic Effects in a Global Environment”  to the Economic and Social Committee of Greece. 

President Wolfensohn's official visit to Greece. World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn visited Athens on March 8-10, 2003 to hold bilateral discussions with Greek government officials during Greece’s EU Presidency and to participate in the 4th Annual Conference of the Parliamentarian Network on the World Bank (PNoWB).  This was Mr. Wolfensohn’s first official trip to Greece as World Bank President. The visit began with Mayor of Athens Dora Bakoyanni bestowing the medal of the city of Athens on Mr. Wolfensohn during a ceremony held at the Town Hall on Saturday, March 8.  The certificate which accompanied the medal carried the inscription “For contribution to the improvement of life of mankind through your fight to reduce poverty.”  On the evening of March 9, a press conference was held with President Wolfensohn, Minister Christodoulakis, and Bert Koenders, Member of the Dutch Parliament and Head of the PNoWB Steering Committee.  The Greek pressreported extensively on the PNoWB conference and President Wolfensohn’s visit to Greece.

The 4th annual Parliamentarian Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) conference was held in Athens on 9-10 March 2003. The conference, hosted by the Government of Greece, was organized by the PNoWB in collaboration with the Vice Presidency for Europe of the World Bank. The PNoWB Conference was hosted by Greek Minister of Economy and Finance Nikos Christodoulakis and brought together over 140 Parliamentarians from more than 60 countries.   The PNoWB was created by the European Vice Presidency of the World Bank to encourage dialogue on development issues between Parliamentarians and the World Bank.  Addressing the plenary session, Mr. Wolfensohn urged the parliamentarians to take an active role in ensuring that development objectives—the MDGs, increased aid and trade—remained on the international agenda amid concerns about security and the global economy.  Responses from the parliamentarians in the audience focused on how they could support efforts to achieve these objectives through legislation and advocacy on issues such as HIV/AIDS in their own countries.  Mr. Wolfensohn encouraged them to keep up their initiatives to monitor progress on these issues through parliamentary working groups set up by the PNoWB and to provide peer support to MPs committed to good governance. For more information on the PNoWB, click here.

Parliamentarians of more than 60 countries gathering to the Greek Vouli (Parliament) to attend the Opening Ceremony of the PNoWB 4th Annual Conference

World Bank Activities in Greece in 2002

Christiaan Poortman, Country Director for the Western Balkans, and Margret C. Thalwitz, Special Representative to the EU for Southeast Europe, visited Athens on December 17, 2002 to discuss collaboration in Southeast Europe with the Greek authorities. Mr. Poortman also gave a presentation on the Bank’s activities in the region to a mixed audience of academics, private sector representatives, policy makers, civil society, and press at the Institute of International Economic Relations.

Thomas Blinkhorn, Senior Advisor in the Private/Financial Sectors Development, visited Greece on November 14, 2002 to discuss the technical issues concerning the establishment of a Global Development Learning Network (GDLN) center in Athens with the Greek authorities. Mr. Blinkhorn also met with a number of possible content providers.

On October 30-31, 2002, Paul Siegelbaum, Sector Director, Private/Financial Sectors Development, and Gary Fine, ECA GDLN Coordinator, visited Athens and Thessaloniki to discuss four main issues: (a) the establishment of GDLN centers in Greece and in the Balkans, and collaboration on content development; (b) Greek government support for Knowledge Assessments of the Balkan countries; (c) an SME networking strategy for those countries, and (d) collaboration of the Hellenic Program for the Reconstruction of the Balkans (ESOAV).

On September 11-16, 2002, Hossein Razavi, Director, Department of Energy, Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank, spoke at a conference on "Energy Challenges in the Black Sea, the Caspian, and Central Asia: Promoting Regional Cooperation" organized by the Hellenic Foundation for European Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and the International Center for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS) in Haliki, Greece. Mr. Razavi was part of a panel which examined "Regional Strategies of Companies and Involvement of International Financial Institutions in the Region." To access the conference website, click here.

On September 1-4, 2002, Jean-Francois Rischard, Vice President for Europe, World Bank paid an official visit to Greece to discuss cooperation between the World Bank and the Greek government, particularly during the Greek EU Presidency in the first half of 2003. His visit included meetings with Minister of Economy and Finance Nikos Christodoulakis, Minister of Development Akis Tsohatzopoulos, and Minister of Macedonia and Thrace George Pashalidis, as well as other government officials, Parliamentarians and private sector representatives. For more details of Mr. Rischard's visit, click here.

On July 5, 2002, Jean-Christophe Bas, Manager, Pan-European Dialogue, Vice-Presidency for Europe, made a presentation on "The New International Development Agenda: the World Bank's Vision of the Way Forward" at the 11th Institute for International Relations Seminar on "The New International Crisis: Implications for International Politics" in Hydra, Greece.

On June 27-29, 2002, the World Bank together with the Greek government held a conference on "Private Sector Development in Education in the Balkans: Incorporating Lessons Learned from Education Reform". The conference discussed five country studies on education reform in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia and Romania. Harry Patrinos, Senior Education Economist in the World Bank's Human Development Network, coordinated the project drawing on the expertise of Frances Tsakonas, Head of the Hellenic Education Task Force for the Stability Pact.

On June 13-14, 2002, a World Bank / IFC Consultants Conference was held in Greece's two main cities – Athens and Thessaloniki. The aim of conference was to explain IFC's Investments and SMEs operations in the Balkan Region as well as opportunities for Greek Consultants on IFC technical Assistance Projects and through the World Bank Consultant Trust Fund program. The events were organized with the assistance of the Athens Chamber of Commerce in the Greek capital, and the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace and the Balkan Business Center (DIPEK) in Thessaloniki. The Ministry of Economy, the Bank's official interlocutor, was responsible for overall coordination.

On May 8-9, 2002, in Bucharest, Romania, representatives from the Greek government and educational institutions attended the First Regional Workshop on Distance Learning, organized by the World Bank, the British Council and the Office of the Regional Envoy for the Strategic Compact for South East Europe. Greece has expressed strong interest in participating in the Global Distance Learning Network (GDLN), through the South East Europe Distance Learning Initiative.

On February 27-28, 2002, Gilles Garcia, Manager, Enterprise Outreach Services, EURVP, visited Athens and Thessaloniki to explore the possibility of launching, during the Greek EU Presidency, a Balkan SMExchange program with the involvement of Greek SME-oriented intermediary organizations (i.e. Greek chambers of commerce, trade associations). The program would build upon the Enterprise Outreach Services SMExchange initiative currently being piloted in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

World Bank Activities in Greece in 2001

On November 27, 2001, Costas Michalopoulos, trade expert on the Balkans and former World Bank staff member, delivered a presentation on "The Western Balkans and International Trade" in Athens, Greece. The presentation, organized by the Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy, was held at the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by a wide-ranging audience of academics, policymakers, government officials, private sector representatives and press.

On August 30-September 4, 2001, the 2001 Halki International Seminar on "Forging Regional Cooperation: Patterns of Cooperation in Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea Region" was held in Halki, Greece. Andrew Rogerson, World Bank Special Representative to the European Union, chaired the session on "Prospects for Stability and Security in SEE: The Role of the International Community". The conference was organized by the Hellenic Foundation for Foreign Policy, in cooperation with the International Center for Black Sea Studies. The event brought together over 100 leading government officials, academics, policy officials and private sector, primarily from Europe and Central Asia.

On July 5, 2001, Franco Passacantando, World Bank Executive Director for Albania, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, and San Marino, and Jean-François Rischard, World Bank Vice-President for Europe, were in Athens to give a presentation on the structure and programs of the World Bank to Greek government officials and operational staff working on development issues. A meeting was also held with the Deputy Minister of National Economy in charge of International Development, Yiannis Zafeiropoulos, and Nicholas Symeonidis, Director, International Organizations and Policies, Ministry of National Economy. In addition, Jean-François Rischard had an informal discussion with Greek policy centers, think tanks and academics hosted by Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy and met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials working on the Greek EU Presidency.

On May 18, 2001, Jean-François Rischard, Vice-President for Europe, World Bank was in Athens to discuss with Greek government officials efforts to upscale interaction with the Bank on development issues. Meetings were held with Constantinos Stephanopoulos, President of Greece; Nicholas Christodoulakis, Minister for Development; Illian Plaskovits, General Secretary of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Georgios Pashalidis, Minister of Macedonia and Thrace; Chistos Pachtas, Deputy Minister of National Economy, and Gikas Hardouvelis, Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister. Mr. Rischard also attended a dinner with private sector leaders.