(ANSA) - BELGRADE, MAY 29 - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has long been committed to supporting infrastructure development in the Balkans, and has invested almost 8bn billion over the past decade, Dubravka Negre, head of the Western Balkan regional office based in the Serbian capital, told reporters today in Belgrade. Negre took part in the conference 'Building Togheter: Serbia, Italy and Montenegro', organized by the CEI in collaboration with ANCE, OICE and the Italian Embassy in Belgrade. The meeting was attended by 50 Italian infrastructure companies, that reached Belgrade with the aim of considering new investment opportunities in Serbia and Montenegro. ''In 2018 we have signed new contracts which were worth over 540 million. We will fund new railway and highway projects across the region, but not only'', Negre added, emphasizing that the EIB is committed to supporting the building of hospitals, schools and infrastructures. and in the field of environmental defense. ''At the same time, we want to increase the resilience of these countries facing with the migration crisis, their ability to attract the market, generating jobs and providing jobseekers with a wider horizon, for example by helping banks that support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are crucial to these economic systems'', said the EIB representative. (ANSA)