26.02.2014 | News
NEFCO and the Georgian government have signed a new framework agreement that acknowledges NEFCO’s status as an international financial institution in Georgia. This will pave the way for new projects with environmental benefits in the country.
The newly signed framework agreement and NEFCO’s expanded geographic mandate conform to the objectives of the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P) to extend operations to other countries in South-Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region. NEFCO has co-financed a range of E5P-initiated projects in Ukraine in the last two years.
The agreement between NEFCO and the Georgian government will enter into force after ratification by the Georgian Parliament, which is expected to take place by the end of March this year.
“We are delighted about the possibility to expand our activities to Georgia. We hope to be able to finance a range of new projects in the country in the near future,” says NEFCO’s Managing Director Magnus Rystedt.
“The negotiation process was handled in a very professional and prompt manner by the Georgian authorities. We were able to finalise our negotiations in less than seven months after approaching the Georgian government last summer,” says NEFCO’s Chief Legal Counsel Tita Anttila.
Presently, the bulk of NEFCO’s investment operations are concentrated in Russia, which is the Corporation’s most important business market. Ukraine is also an important market for NEFCO’s business operations in Eastern Europe, accounting for close to 17% of the Corporation’s investment portfolio. Apart from its operations in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic region, NEFCO also purchases emission reduction units throughout the world from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme. NEFCO has also initiated negotiations on signing new framework agreements with the Moldovan and Armenian governments.
Footnote: The E5P donates funds to supplement loans for environmental activities granted by international financial institutions. The E5P began operations in 2011, and the current donors include Denmark, Estonia, the European Commission, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Sweden, the USA and Ukraine.