Brussels, 8 February 2021/OACPS: The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) has high hopes that the new Partnership Agreement with the European Union (EU) will enable the creation of innovative financial instruments to support the OACPS Private Sector. This was the main conclusion reached at the close of the Annual Review of the activities of the Investment Facility (IF) managed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), an annual meeting for the EIB to inform OACPS Ambassadors and their representatives, of the keyfinancing results under the Cotonou Mandate, and of the future partnerships with OACPS countries in the post-Cotonou era.

The virtual one-day meeting, on 9 February, featured panel discussions on the EIB’s results in OACPS Member States in 2020 as well as a review of investments under the Investment Facility (IF) and the Cotonou Partnership overall.

During the Opening Ceremony, Secretary-General of the OACPS, H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, thanked the EIB for their work in the framework of the Investment Facility (IF) of the Cotonou Agreement: “We are convinced that the Investment Facility has managed to provide much-needed assistance in fulfilling the objectives of the Cotonou Agreement of poverty reduction, integration into the world economy and sustainable development,” but also suggested areas for improvement, including strengthening the OACPS regional offices, and a greater uptake of higher-risk projects, especially those with high expected development outcomes and impact.

H.E. Mr Pa’olelei Luteru, Ambassador of Samoa and Chair of the OACPS Committee of Ambassadors, Ms Marjeta Jager, Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Development with the European Commission, Mr Ambroise Fayotte, Vice-President, EIB and Mr Luca Lazzaroli, Deputy Director-General, EIB were among the other high-level speakers on the opening panel, which was moderated by Mr. Richard Amor, Head of Corporate Lending for the EIB’s operations in Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia and Latin America.

See below for the presentations at the Opening Ceremony from:

EIB’s work in the Member States of the OACPS

The EIB has been active in the ACP regions since 1963. In the 18 years of the Cotonou Mandate, it has invested over €15 billion, which has supported about €60 billion worth of investment in sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

More about EIB’s work in the Members of the OACPS

About the Cotonou Mandate and the Investment Facility

Under the Cotonou Mandate, the EIB has worked closely with the Members of the OACPS and the European Union (EU) as well as with the European Commission to meet the EU’s policy goals and ambitions. The EIB has made investments in the ACP regions and the overseas countries and territories (OCTs) through the Investment Facility (IF). The Facility supports projects that contribute to the private sector in particular. The overall financing in the regions has added up to over €15 billion signed for 440 projects in 58 countries and 10 regional groupings.