Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank, took part in meeting convened by Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the UN, to discuss the impact of global food, energy and finance crises exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. President Hoyer also participated as this year’s Chair of the group of multilateral development banks. The meeting discussed findings and recommendations by the UN Global Crisis Response Group on food, energy and finance set up by the United Nations in March. The UN Group found that over 100 countries face severe repercussions from at least one of the three dimensions considered. The meeting discussed several possible courses of action to address the need to ensure responses by the international financial system do not prioritise short-term gains over sustainable development and strengthen the negative impact of the crises on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.
President Hoyer said, “I am grateful to the Deputy Secretary General for her initiative today. There is no time to lose. We face an unprecedented set of crises, and there is a real risk that the response by the international financial world or by the strongest economies will add to the suffering of the weaker ones. This cannot be. Clearly MDBs have a role to play, and we intend to play it to the full extent of our means, in close coordination among ourselves, with the UN, and with international partners.”