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Jointly organized by the World Bank and the Austrian Federal Competition Authority on  May 26, 2025, the first meeting of an informal network of competition authorities from the Western Balkans at the Vienna Development Knowledge Center event was aimed at supporting economic integration and sustainable growth in this region. The workshop brought together representatives from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.

At a May 26 workshop hosted by the Vienna Development Knowledge Center, policymakers and financial regulators from Europe and Central Asia ¨C as well as World Bank experts ¨C came together to share insights and best practices related to NDBs and competition policies in the financial sector.

The workshop was the first Vienna Development Knowledge Center activity in the area of Climate Resilience and Adaptation. Specifically tailored to countries in ECA that are facing challenges as they seek to strengthen their water supply and sanitation sectors amid a growing need for climate resilience and adaptation, the workshop held on May 12-13 also drew participants from Albania, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and T¨¹rkiye, as well as water practitioners and experts from Bulgaria, Portugal and the World Bank for a series of solutions-oriented sessions. 

As the first Vienna Development Knowledge Center activity in the thematic area of Economic Governance, the event on March 17, 2025 brought together participants ¨C largely from developing countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) ¨C to discuss ways to more proactively and strategically ramp up the role of SOEs in climate mitigation, adaptation and resilience.