Today, at another meeting of the Government of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic presented a proposal to open a regional office of the International Investment Bank in Bratislava, in line with the decision of the 102^nd IIB Council Meeting (Bulgaria, November 2014). The proposal was approved by the members of the Slovak Government, and the leadership of the Ministry of Finance is soon expected to receive necessary full powers to sign the Agreement between the Slovak Republic and the IIB on the establishment of an office of the IIB in the Slovak Republic.

With regard to the finalization of preparation for the opening of IIB’s first office outside its seat — to be established as the European Regional Office in Bratislava, Slovakia — the International Investment Bank appointed Igor Barat for the position of the future Head of the office. Mr. Barat graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, majoring in International Journalism with foreign language. He gained extensive experience in financial affairs after working as an international journalist, having worked between 2003 and 2007 at the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) and between 2007 and 2009 at the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic. He was appointed as the Plenipotentiary of the Government of the Slovak Republic for the Introduction of the Euro, responsible for the coordination of the technical preparations for the changeover on the national level, and served as a spokesman for the NBS, responsible for drafting National Euro Changeover plan and representing the NBS in the European Central Bank and EC Communication committees. Since 2009, Mr. Barat has served as an Advisor to and a Member of the Management Board of Poštová banka, a.s.

Introducing Igor Barat to the IIB team, Nikolay Kosov, Chairman of the Board, stated that «the Bank welcomes the decision of the Slovak Government, which again and again confirms its status as a leading supporter of the IIB. We are also pleased by the selection of the future Head of the office, and we are confident that — as a well-known professional in the CEE region — Igor Barat is the right person for coping with the challenges of opening IIB’s first regional office, scheduled for the next months, and for leading the Bank’s expansion in Europe».