EIB strengthens Ukraine support, global partnerships and climate action at 2023 World Bank Group-IMF Spring Meetings

The theme of enhanced partnership was a resonant one at last week’s Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington DC, where an EIB delegation joined other financial institutions, national governments and regional partners for talks on responding to today’s global challenges.

The delegation was led by EIB President Werner Hoyer, as well as Vice-Presidents Ambroise Fayolle, Teresa Czerwińska, Ricardo Mourinho and Thomas Östros. Issues such as the war in Ukraine, climate action and Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) reform topped the agenda.

Ukraine support

Speaking at the Third Ministerial Roundtable Discussion for Support to Ukraine, President Hoyer presented the Bank’s new “EU for Ukraine Initiative”, which foresees the establishment of a Trust Fund that will enable EU members, the European Commission, as well as other countries and donors to support reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine.

“Ukraine’s survival does not depend only on ammunition and guns, but in keeping the economy going. This is our focus", he said.

After the roundtable, President Hoyer and Vice-President Czerwińska met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who welcomed the Bank’s support.

“International support in financing rapid recovery is urgently needed for Ukraine. According to the recent Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment (RDNA2), the cost for reconstruction and recovery needs in 2023 is $14 billion. The priority areas are energy, housing, critical, social infrastructure, and the private sector. And the new EU for Ukraine Initiative from the EIB can play an important role in restoring Ukraine from the devastating consequences of the military aggression”, Shmyhal said.

Global partnerships

The EIB also signed two separate agreements with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), demonstrating the Bank’s commitment to global partnerships.

The EIB and DFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 13 April aimed at fostering US and European collaboration on supporting new global investments on issues such as climate change, energy security, information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as health.

President Hoyer hailed the agreement as a transatlantic partnership in action, while DFC CEO Scott Nathan said he “looks forward to closer collaboration with the EIB”.

The signature was also attended by European Commission Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, who helped initiate the agreement.

“We are today delivering on an important commitment of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), which is to support developing and emerging economies with strategic investments. This (Memorandum of Understanding) with the EIB and the DFC focusses on financing digital infrastructure, cybersecurity and secure connectivity, among others. It is evidence of the transatlantic goal to make a positive impact globally, based on our shared values, and I look forward to similar initiatives in future”, Dombrovskis said.

Later in the week, the EIB joined forces with the World Resources Institute. Vice-President Fayolle and WRI President and CEO Ani Dasgupta signed a Memorandum of Understanding on 15 April to support climate action, biodiversity and nature-based solutions in least developed countries.

“The agreement signed today will allow the World Resources Institute and the European Investment Bank to build on each other’s strengths to raise awareness and prepare the ground for projects that could be financed by financiers like the EIB. As such, it will ensure that science and finance go hand in hand to achieve the highest impact”, Fayolle said.

In addition to the DFC and WRI agreements, EIB delegates held bilateral meetings with leaders and senior ministers from a number of partner countries, highlighting the key role EIB Global plays in supporting their national resilience.

EIB delegates met with Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Rania Al Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation; and Zeina Toukan, Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, among others, to discuss a range of issues, including investing in projects such as water management and sustainable transport to support their respective countries’ climate resilience.

MDB reform

Multilateral Development Bank reform was also high up on the agenda, especially in the context of responding more effectively to the needs of the most vulnerable countries in the world. To this end, EIB delegates, including Vice-Presidents Fayolle, Östros and Mourinho, held talks with the leaders of Barbados, Costa Rica and Rwanda – countries on the front line of climate change and the first to be covered under the new IMF Resilience and Sustainability Fund.

Speaking at the IMF-organised V20 Ministerial Dialogue X, Vice-President Fayolle welcomed the IMF’s initiative, of which the EIB is a key partner. He assured representatives from the Vulnerable Group of 20 (V20) that the EIB was listening to their needs. Earlier in the week, the EIB delegation also met with V20 President Mohamed Nasheed to discuss issues including local currency financing and restructured debt guarantees for V20 countries.

The EIB’s participation at the Spring Meetings concluded with the MDB Heads Meeting on 15 April, during which President Hoyer led discussion on making more use of the Global Emerging Markets (GEMs) Risk Database Consortium, which was founded by the EIB and International Finance Corporation (IFC – World Bank Group) in 2009. President Hoyer asserted that making GEMs more widely available to other investors would improve understanding of the investment landscape in specific areas.

  Watch President Hoyer’s interviews on CNBC International TV and CNN’s Quest Means Business