Brussels, 26/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 25 October, two new initiatives to stimulate private investment in the neighbourhood region were presented during the strategic board meeting of the Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF). The initiatives could leverage at least €2 billion from European public finance institutions and private investors.
The support programme for investment security in the Mediterranean region (ISMED), which will be given €1.5 million, will carry out assessments to evaluate the level of investment protection provided by the local authorities, identify gaps and make recommendations to address them. The programme will be implemented together with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The ISMED risk and cost sharing toolkit of the NIF will provide targeted measures - for example, support to risk-sharing mechanisms (in other words, making funds available to help private investors by reducing their exposure to risk), and guarantee schemes addressing risk as a major obstacle for private investment. This initiative will be supported by a sizeable part of the €220 million available for the NIF until the end of 2013. (CG/transl.fl)