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UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development - EU Opening Statement

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT

Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development

8th session

25 – 27 November 2024

EU statement (check against delivery)

 

Dear Chair, Secretary General, Excellencies, colleagues.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States on this important topic.

At the outset, allow me to congratulate Ambassador Julia Imene-Chanduru (Namibia) and Ambassador Oike Atsuyuki (Japan) on their election to lead us in this meeting. We look forward to engage actively and constructively.

This meeting takes place at an important moment for multilateral developments on financing for development. The recently agreed Pact for the Future is a cornerstone to rebuild trust towards multilateral institutions that are fair, equitable and inclusive. The 4th conference on Financing for Development in Spain will be a critical landmark for accelerating the mobilisation of finance for sustainable development in all its dimensions. While at UNCTAD 16, among other things, we committed to review the two Intergovernmental Expert Meetings created at UNCTAD 14, including this one.

This expert group series has the potential to contribute to the larger financing for development discussions. By bringing together experts on specific topics, it can facilitate valuable exchanges and recommendations that may be considered in relevant domestic and intergovernmental processes. For this to be the case, it is essential to ensure coherence, complementarity and synergy with other ongoing discussions.

This year’s agreed topic – addressing the cost of finance for developing countries – is well suited for a concrete and operational exchange. Such an exchange may generate ideas for improved or potentially new, policies and tools, nationally and internationally. While parts of the background note provide examples relevant to the guiding questions, we count on the present experts to focus on the agreed topic and questions. Moreover, it is important to note that there are diverging views on the proposed solutions, which still require to be studied and discussed in-depth and in pertinent fora.

EU and its Member States developed, and continue to refine, many innovative tools and initiatives to address the challenge of high cost of finance for development, in particular for countries facing the biggest challenges.

The European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), one of the financing tools of Global Gateway, offers a variety of risk-sharing instruments amounting to €40 billion. Targeting private investors and commercial sub-sovereign actors, EFSD+ Open Architecture Guarantees promote projects in more challenging markets by covering part of the risk that private sector is not ready to take. It mobilises bilateral and multilateral European development finance institutions. Where sovereign and other public sector risks remain a major bottleneck, such guarantees offered through the European Investment Bank, support investments in clean energy, green infrastructure and health.

The Global Green Bond Initiative (GGBI), a flagship Team Europe initiative under preparation, will help partner countries access private capital for green and sustainable investment. Relying on three pillars – a public-private fund to mobilise private funds through de-risking, a technical assistance programme to support the authorities, and a Green Coupon Facility to partially subsidise interest payments – the Initiative represents a comprehensive answer to the challenges that lower middle income countries face in developing their green bond market.

In conclusion, we count on a constructive and operational expert exchange, enabling us all to enhance and innovate our tools to reduce the cost of finance for developing countries.

Thank you.