(Ecofin Agency) - The European bank for reconstruction and development (BERD) plans to expand its operations to sub-Saharan Africa and new countries in the Middle East. The information was relayed last April 13 by Reuters which mentioned the institution’s president, Suma Chakrabarti (photo).

“The debate is starting with our shareholders: Would you like us, gradually, incrementally to go to a few more places maybe in sub-Saharan Africa in particular?” Mr. Chakrabarti said. He specified that the new countries of operations should be democracies or, at least, committed to becoming one. They should also focus on the same market-based economy as the bank.

Chakrabarti, who has been running the bank since 2012, will present the proposals to relevant politicians at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) spring meetings, which started yesterday April 16 and will end next April 22, in Washington. He will then start implementing this expansion plan subsequently to an approval from the bank’s Governors.

Let’s note that this move of the institution, which funds projects aimed at supporting the transition to a market-based economy may, however, face resistance from some shareholders of North and East Europe.

 For the record, BERD was initially created (in 1990) to simplify transition towards a market-based economy in Central and Eastern Europe’s countries. It has planned to expand operations to the South and East of the Mediterranean since the 2011 Arab Spring and opened in Tunis, since June 2013, its first permanent office dedicated to the southern and eastern part of the Mediterranean, which has since then, benefited from a total funding of nearly €7 billion.