President von der Leyen: Strengthening engagement with partners

The global pandemic and the knock-on effects of Russia's war concerning energy and food have a strong impact on the global economy, but especially on the global south. The same is true for the effects of climate change.

Many emerging and developing countries are looking for sustainable funding opportunities. The Belt and Road Initiative looked like a good cheap offer. But many countries in the Global South have made bad experiences with China. They took Chinese loans and ended up in a debt crisis. And all Russia has to offer these countries are weapons and mercenaries.

That's why many countries of the global south are looking for alternative funding options. For the G7 and likeminded partners there is now a window of opportunity. We should offer win-win partnerships to emerging economies that are willing to work with us. But we have to be fast and we have to get concrete.

Our big advantage compared to others is the comprehensive package we can offer. We're can bring players from the private sector and the banks around the table. And we also focus on producing added value in our partner countries. Because they wish to move up the value chains to produce finished and semi-finished products. So, we will be supporting not just extraction of raw materials but also local processing and refining.

The combination of large capital and technology transfer are the two strengths mostly our private sector can contribute. Our role is to de-risk their investments. We have developed new tools for that, like loan guarantees and blending operations.

Our Partnership for Global Investment and Infrastructure (PGII), we launched one year ago is delivering first results. Under Global Gateway – the EU´s contribution to the PGII – we are rolling out this year 90 flagship projects on different continents. We are investing in green from hydrogen production, submarine cables or secure satellite connectivity to railway connections. /BGNES