The Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Rolf Wenzel, concluded an official visit to Turkey where he met with high-level government officials to discuss ongoing CEB-funded projects in the field of emergency preparedness, transport, and health.

In his meetings with Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lutfi Elvan, Minister of Treasury and Finance, and Fahrettin Koca, Minister of Health, the Governor highlighted the importance of CEB’s continued support for the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP) to which the Bank has channeled € 600 million since 2010. The CEB and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance signed the third loan agreement worth € 100 million earlier this week.

“Preventing natural catastrophes and aiding post-disaster reconstruction process constitute one of the Bank’s statutory priorities, which is why I would like to underline that the CEB stands ready to contribute to Turkey’s ongoing efforts, including those in the aftermath of devastating wild fires and floods this summer,” Governor Wenzel said.

With respect to CEB’s fast-track COVID loans, Governor Wenzel inquired about short- and medium-term plans to overcome the negative impacts of the pandemic. The Bank approved € 200 million to the Ministry of Health to purchase equipment, medicine and consumables for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. It released the first tranche of € 100 million in November 2020, and the second one in May 2021.

Finally, Governor Wenzel visited the CEB project office in Ankara, the Bank’s first ever office outside of Paris that opened in March this year. There he discussed progress in the implementation of the Strengthening Health Care Infrastructure for All (SHIFA), a new project funded under the European Union’s Facility for Refugees in Turkey (FRiT) that aims to make health care services more accessible to refugees and strengthen the overall health infrastructure in the country.