On his first official visit to Honduras Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), met today with Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández in the country’s capital. Further meetings were held with Finance Minister Wilfredo Rafael Cerrato and Minister of Infrastructure Roberto Ordoñez. The talks focused on the Bank’s engagement in the country’s transport and energy sector. EIB’s visit was supported by the EU Delegation to Honduras.

At their meeting President Hoyer and President Hernández discussed various areas of cooperation suitable for support and investments by the EU Bank. It is primarily in the areas of infrastructure, transport, energy, in particular renewable energy, and climate change mitigation where EIB funding could make a considerable contribution to the country’s social development and economic growth.

President Hoyer called the exchange an excellent starting point that helped define concrete projects warranting EIB financing. “The Honduran administration has been very supportive in identifying suitable areas of cooperation. With its long-standing expertise in Latin America, the EIB stands ready to contribute to the country’s economic growth and employment. I look forward to continuing our dialogue and cooperation in the near future.”

In further meetings with Honduran Minister of Finance, Wilfredo Rafael Cerrato, and Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Roberto Ordoñez, the country’s road network was identified as one potential project to be supported by the EIB. In the energy sector the EU Bank is already cooperating closely with the Inter-American Development Bank to draw up an electrification programme that would mainly support energy transmission infrastructure for renewable energy in the western part of Honduras.

Climate change mitigation has also been a focus of the EIB’s cooperation with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), which has its headquarters in Honduras. In 2013, for example, the EIB provided CABEI with USD 230 million for investments in hydropower, wind, geothermal and photovoltaic renewable energy schemes across Central America. CABEI is one of the EIB’s main financial partners in the region.

President Werner Hoyer will continue his official trip, travelling on to Panama.