The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a new partnership agreement to scale up their support to countries facing situations of emergency caused by epidemics, natural disasters, conflict and other types of fragility. This agreement will enable both institutions to reinforce the resilience of partner countries and contribute to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The immediate focus will be to address setbacks, mainly caused by the COVID-19 crisis, in Eastern and Southern neighborhood, Central Asia and Africa.
In situations of emergency, conducting project procurement can represent a challenge too high to ensure a timely response to populations’ urgent needs. This new agreement will enable the UNDP to carry out the procurement required for the implementation of projects financed by the EIB in such situations. UNDP’s presence in fragile and conflict countries will greatly help EIB financing to reach the most vulnerable and allow both organizations to respond quicker to pressing requests.
During the online signing ceremony, Werner Hoyer, EIB president, and Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator, exchanged their views on these challenging times.
