The European Investment Bank (EIB) today officially inaugurated its regional office for the Pacific in Sydney. The representation will serve fifteen countries and four Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) in the region. The opening marks the completion of a series of five EIB external offices in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries where the Bank provides financial and technical assistance alongside the European Commission.
The principal role of the regional office will be to help develop EIB operational activities in the Pacific, previously limited by travel distances and time differences in relation to EIB headquarters in Luxembourg. The positioning of the office in Sydney will facilitate communication and coordination links not only with potential project promoters, but also with other donors based in the region, such as the European Commission delegations, the World Bank/IFC and the Asian Development Bank, as well as AusAID and NZAid. As such, the EIB will be able to strengthen and deepen the strategic role it plays in contributing to sustainable economic growth in the region.
The EIB’s regional office for the Pacific was inaugurated by Jean-Louis Biancarelli, EIB Director General for Operations Outside the EU and the Honourable John Joseph Aquilina, Member of New South Wales Parliament, Leader of the House and EU advisor, in the presence of the Honourable Misa Retzlaff Telefoni, President of the ACP Council of Ministers and Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa. Jean-Louis Biancarelli described the opening of the Pacific office as “a timely affirmation of the EIB’s commitment to the region, coming in the wake of the PacificIslands Forum in Tonga in October where the EU committed itself to an important financial package of close to EUR 300 million for the period 2008-2014.”
Other EIB officials in attendance at the opening included Jean-Philippe de Jong, appointed Head of the new Pacific Office, and David Crush, Head of Division for Lending in the Caribbean and Pacific, based at the EIB’s headquarters in Luxembourg.
Since the start of operations in the Pacific countries, the EIB has contributed more than EUR 380 million to their development. The Bank has been instrumental in the planning and financing of a investment projects across a wide range of sectors, including communication and transport infrastructure, energy and environmental protection, as well as manufacturing and mining.
Background Information:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has been an active development partner in many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries since 1963. EIB lending in the region is an integral element of the European financial support package provided under the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement of 2000. The Bank’s operations in the region contribute to sustainable social and economic development and poverty alleviation. As well as providing loans from EIB own resources, the Bank manages the Investment Facility (IF), a revolving fund financed by the EU Member States. The IF provides various forms of risk-sharing financing instruments for investment projects in most economic sectors. EIB loans to the ACP region in 2006 amounted to EUR 745 million.