Brussels, 12/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - Taking part in the plenary meeting of the annual assemblies of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Lima (Peru) on Thursday 8 October, the head of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Werner Hoyer, affirmed the need to increase support for investment in order to finance economic and social transition in the Middle East and North Africa.
Hoyer is also head of the group of international financial institutions (IFI) involved in the Deauville Partnership. This partnership is a multilateral initiative launched at the G8 summit in Deauville in May 2011. Its goal is to support the transition countries after the Arab Spring. These countries have repeatedly stated that the commitment taken has not been followed through.
In Hoyer's view, the time has come to move on to stepping up investment in infrastructure and creating jobs in the Middle East and North Africa. He believes that the financial institutions, including the EIB, could aim at reducing the economic impact of violent conflicts, unlocking additional resources to support economic growth, and increasing coordination to ensure more effective involvement. He also observed that the countries in the region are faced with enormous additional pressure, including the need to offer hospitality to the refugees escaping fear and violence.
The Deauville Partnership brings together the finance ministers of the G7 member countries and of the transition countries (Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and Yemen). The IFI platform within this partnership includes the African Bank for Development, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the EIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Finance Corporation, the IMF, the Islamic Development Bank, the OPEC Fund for International Development, and the World Bank.
Over the last five years the EIB has provided more than €22 billion for investment in energy, water, health care, urban development and private sector projects in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. (Original version in French by Fathi B'Chir)