BSTDB Vice President Banking Highlights Investment, Connectivity and Equitable Growth at Bucharest Conference

BSTDB Vice President Banking Highlights Investment, Connectivity and Equitable Growth at Bucharest Conference

News | 01-Apr-2026

Financial institutions must drive transformation to support competitive and inclusive growth

Speaking at the Romania Government Roundtable "South-East Europe's Next Leap Forward", organised by The Economist Impact Events, Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) Vice President Banking Ziya Aliyev called on financial institutions to take a more active role in shaping Europe's economic future.

Addressing the conference, Mr. Aliyev stressed that financial institutions must go beyond their traditional role as providers of capital and act as "drivers of transformation", mobilising investment to address regional disparities and strengthen resilience.

"The Black Sea region is Europe's strategic frontier-bridging the European Union, Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia," he noted. "It is a region of strong potential, but also one where investment gaps and uneven development persist."

Despite ongoing geopolitical pressures, the Black Sea region continues to outperform much of Europe in 2025, economic growth reached approximately 3%, well above the Eurozone average, with medium-term growth expected to remain in the 2-3% range.

The Vice- President highlighted BSTDB's dual mandate to promote regional cooperation and economic development. With more than €9 billion in cumulative financing, the Bank supports infrastructure, energy, SMEs, and cross-border connectivity- sectors he described as essential for long-term competitiveness.

Concluding his remarks, Mr. Aliyev stressed that equitable growth requires deliberate and strategic investment choices. "At BSTDB, we are committed to supporting a future where the Black Sea region and Europe are not only more competitive, but also more cohesive and resilient," he said.

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is an international financial institution established by Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine. The BSTDB headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece. BSTDB supports economic development and regional cooperation by providing loans, credit lines, equity and guarantees for projects and trade financing in the public and private sectors in its member countries. The authorized capital of the Bank is EUR 3.45 billion. For information on BSTDB, visit www.bstdb.org.

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