- EIB delegation led by President Werner Hoyer attends Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund
- Announcements by EU bank on MDB reform, joint climate action and launch of EIB Group Investment Survey
- Solidarity with long-standing partner Kingdom of Morocco in wake of devastating earthquake
EIB President Werner Hoyer, Vice Presidents Ambroise Fayolle, Thomas Östros, Teresa Czerwińska and Ricardo Mourinho Félix are in Marrakesh this week to join fellow Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), other financial institutions, and international and regional partners to discuss how the global financial system can better respond to crises, from the climate emergency to poverty and health inequality.
The EIB – which as the EU climate bank is one of the largest financiers of climate and environmental projects in the world - will reaffirm its commitment to work towards a better collective functioning of MDBs. Senior EIB representatives will join their counterparts at the World Bank Group (WBG), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other MDBs to frame common responses to challenges such as the mobilisation of the private sector for climate action and the acceleration of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development.
President Hoyer will lead the EIB delegation to participate in various events over a week which will include the meeting of MDB heads, the publication of a new report on MDBs’ joint climate action and the launch of the EIB Group’s annual Investment Survey.
President Hoyer said ahead of his departure to Marrakesh: “For the EU Bank it is vitally important to be in Marrakesh to listen to our partner countries and discuss how we can deliver greater value to them alongside fellow international financial institutions. Development Banks are being called on to tackle many major challenges: I am confident we can identify in Marrakesh common tools to make a leap forward in the pursuit of our respective missions.”
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, responsible for climate and development at the EIB, said: “As part of the Multilateral Development Banks’ group, the EIB is convinced that increased cooperation among international institutions, with partner countries but also with the private sector can bring a real value-added. This is particularly the case when it comes to climate finance, at the core of the EIB’s mission as the EU climate bank. It is only collectively that we will be able to support a just and green transition and this is a key requirement to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. The Annual Meetings are an opportunity to make real progress with our fellow MDBs.”
Ricardo Mourinho Félix, EIB Vice President with oversight of the Bank’s partnership with Morocco and countries in North Africa, said, “The EIB is ready to support the recovery from the terrible earthquake in Morocco, and prepared to provide financing and technical capacity to the country and its communities. We are meeting this week in a region where climate change is a clear and present threat. Morocco is in many ways a model in terms of environmental and climate ambitions and for similar partnerships we have with the African continent. The EIB supports the innovative EU-Morocco Green Partnership to protect the environment, to ease the transition to greener economy, conserve biodiversity and fight climate change.”
Vice-President Thomas Östros, jointly responsible for development and financing in Africa said: “The EIB is dedicated to driving sustainable financial growth in Africa through collaboration with our regional partners. Our recent EIB Financing in Africa Survey, done with 33 banks across the continent, underlined the need to equip African banks for transformative private sector investment. More broadly, EIB Global, the EIB’s development arm is well on track to facilitate at least a third of the €300 billion of investment that Global Gateway aims to mobilise by 2027. This will help support projects that are focused on digitalisation, the fight against climate change, clean energy, healthcare, education, as well as transport.”
Vice-President Teresa Czerwińska responsible for Ukraine said, “The suffering inflicted on the Ukrainian people continues and Ukrainians demonstrate an extraordinary fortitude and resilience in the face of Russia’s aggression. As the EU bank, we are committed to help keeping public services functioning, repairing war damage and continuing to invest in schools and public transport . I look forward to meeting our Ukrainian partners here in Marrakesh and to working alongside our fellow MDBs to find ways to deliver investments more rapidly and to ensure that those who need it most can benefit from our projects.”
The EIB Group Investment Survey:
The EIB Group Survey on Investment, which has been administered since 2016, is a unique, annual survey of some 13 000 firms. Data were collected in mid-2023 from firms in all EU Member States. The survey also includes a sample of firms in the United States. The survey collects data on firm characteristics and performance, past investment activities and future plans, sources of finance, financing issues and other challenges that firms face, such as climate change, digitalisation and international trade. This year’s survey EIBIS2023 will be released in Marrakesh on Thursday, October 12.
More information in EIB Global in Morocco:
Since 1979, EIB operations in Morocco have improved people’s daily lives by providing access to clean water and energy, finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainable mobility, health and education. The EIB is supporting the EU-Morocco Green Partnership, by which the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco consolidated their cooperation on protecting the environment, supporting the green economy, conserving biodiversity including at sea, and fighting climate change.
More information on EIB Global’s partnerships with Africa:
In 2022, the EIB signed €4.3 billion of financing in Africa. At a time when African partners are still suffering from the consequences of the pandemic and investment needs remain high, the EIB responded with sustained support for operations that contribute to health resilience, jobs and growth, as well as building growth-enabling infrastructure and connectivity.
With the launch of EIB Global, the EIB has been expanding its presence on the ground with launching five new regional hubs in Abidjan, Cairo, Pretoria as well as Belgrade and Kyiv, in addition to our first one in Nairobi.
More than half of EIB lending volume in Africa is focused on targeting the private sector whilst contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate goals. Products in Africa range from senior debt, equity, microfinance and local currency lending to technical assistance, interest rate subsidies and other blended finance instruments (read the recently published Financing in Africa Survey for more details).
A partnership with Africa (eib.org)
More information on the EU Climate Bank:
Last year close to 60% (58%) of all EIB financing was in climate and environmental action, amounting to some €36.5 billion. The EIB Group as a whole, has supported €222 billion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments over the last two years.
The EIB is well on course to support more than $1 trillion of investment in climate action and environmental sustainability around the world through 2021-2030. In 2019, the EIB adopted an updated Energy Lending Policy that ended financing to any unabated fossil fuels energy projects, including natural gas.
Climate and environmental sustainability (eib.org)
EIB and Ukraine:
Since the start of the Russian invasion, the EIB has mobilised and disbursed €1.7 billion in emergency relief to Ukraine, with the support of the European Commission. In Spring 2023, as a part of a larger EU for Ukraine initiative, the EIB’s EU4U Fund was announced to rapidly scale up support for Ukraine’s most urgent infrastructure needs and sustain the economy.
Background information
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm dedicated to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance. EIB Global is designed to foster strong and focused partnership within Team Europe, alongside fellow development finance institutions, and civil society. EIB Global also brings the EIB Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world.
For interview requests with members of the EIB delegation please get in touch with the press contacts below. Follow all the latest news from Marrakesh here The EIB at the World Bank Group-IMF Annual Meetings 2023
Shirin Wheeler +32 474 242494 s.wheeler@eib.org @shirinwheelerEU
Driss Charrier Rachidi +212 661 473000 d.charrierrachidi@ext.eib.org