Baltic Investment Programme – Twenty Years of Joint Nordic Financial and Technical Assistance to the Three Baltic Countries

The Baltic Investment Programme was first launched for the period 1992-1995. It was then extended for another period, 1995-1998. In 1998 it was decided to let the programme come to a gradual end in 2003, the year before the three Baltic countries became members of the European Union.

The main purpose of the programme was to promote the development of small and medium sized enterprises in the private sector as an important vehicle for economic growth and employment, as well as assisting the development of a commercial financial sector by establishing a national investment banks in each of the three countries.

The report tells the story leading up to the agreement with the Baltic countries on the Baltic Investment Programme. It then goes on explaining the various phases in the development of the Programme, the tasks of the institution and the finances, how the institutions used the resources provided by the Programme. Some of the important sub-p rogrammes are explained in more detail. Finally, in the last chapter an assessment of the Programme is given.