The European Investment Bank (EIB) has released its vision for working with Africa and a set of expert ideas about the future of development.
This was contained in two new publications formally launched by EIB’s President Werner Hoyer and Vice President Thomas Östros, ahead of the European Development Days.
According to a statement, the first publication, ‘A Partnership with Africa: How the European Investment Bank,’ delivers on EU policies in Africa, “and our future plans for development and partnership across the continent, lays out plans by the EU bank for greater impact in its projects in Africa.”
The second, ‘Global Solutions, International Partnerships: The European Investment Bank Development Report 2021,’ “is built around expert essays that provide new ideas to answer today’s global development challenges. It is the first time the world’s biggest multilateral financial institution has published a vision for its African deals or a comprehensive report on its €10 billion annual development lending.”
The European Investment Bank is one of the largest providers of climate finance in the world and has committed to support €1 trillion in climate and environmental investment over the next decade.
The EU bank also works with African partners in innovation, small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure. Last year, the EIB signed €5 billion in loans in Africa.
The EIB is the only multilateral finance institution exclusively owned by the EU and works closely with other EU institutions to support EU policies in over 140 countries around the world.
The bank is a key part of the EU toolbox that for decades has helped make the partnership between Africa and Europe stronger. It aims to maximise the impact of every investment, so that it can join its African partners in addressing today’s critical challenges together and embrace the opportunities presented by the continent’s economic transformation.
“A Partnership with Africa lays out the EIB’s track record in Africa and illustrates how the EIB believes it can deliver better in the years ahead. It is an account of a solid partnership between the European Commission and the EIB, as well as with the full range of European and international development finance institutions and other stakeholders,” it added.
