COFIDES and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a Co-financing and Collaboration Agreement to boost their joint financing of investment projects through the private sector and out of the European Union.

The Operations Director at the EIB for Latin America and the Caribbean, María Shaw Barragán, and COFIDES Chairman, Salvador Marín, signed the agreement during the Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

BLENDING AND GREEN FUND

Pursuant to this agreement, both institutions will facilitate the co-financing for investment projects in developing countries, especially by using combined financing (blending) of the European Union and instruments such as the United Nations Green Climate Fund.

In addition to this, the document considers a contribution of up to a total of 200 million Euros for the financing of investments led by COFIDES for the next three years. As the agreement stipulates, COFIDES will take care of the integral management of the projects as Development Financial Institution (DFI).

COFIDES is a DFI authorised by the European Union to manage the budget of the EU regarding combined financing (blending) and Delegated Cooperation. The blending is an EU’s financing instrument which combines EU grants with refundable financing (by means of loans or equity) from authorised entities.

COFIDES chairman, Salvador Marín, emphasized that “this agreement is an example of COFIDES’ dynamism and innovation to promote new ways to provide the private sector with more support to invest abroad, contributing at the same time to the sustainable economic and social development and to the compliance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

The Operations Director at the EIB for Latin America and the Caribbean, María Shaw Barragán, stressed “the importance of this kind of agreements to create more investment opportunities. Through this cooperation mechanism, the EIB can count on the valuable experience and knowledge of institutions which are already working in Latin America and the Caribbean to mobilise the necessary financial resources that guarantee the development of new projects”.