President Werner Hoyer delivered the closing remarks for EU-LAC Business Round Table preceding the EU-CELAC summit.

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Your excellences, ladies and gentlemen, 

Many thanks for the invitation. I am very happy to be with you today. It is wonderful to see such high-level participants from both sides of the Atlantic. I would particularly like to thank the European Commission, the Inter-American Development Bank and Corporacion Andina de Fomento for the organisation of this business roundtable, an excellent platform to promote eye-level partnership across the two regions.

Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe are linked in a unique way. Culturally, economically and politically. We face the same challenges, from climate change, to economic inequality, to threats to multilateralism and we share the values that we can leverage to overcome all this:  individual freedom, the rule of law and human rights.

The European Union is the largest investor in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the region's second largest trading partner. Beyond the metrics, this means that the economic development of one region has a direct impact on the prosperity of the other. In the coming years, these economic relations will continue to gain momentum. Yes, we will, in my opinion, experience a real boom.

And one key reason for this is: the fight against climate change.

Time is pressing, and we are learning – through the change that is already taking place – that there is no other way than to decarbonise as soon as possible through innovative, efficient technology and to preserve ecosystems and livelihoods. 

More and more companies from both regions are beginning to see climate change not just as a threat but as an opportunity.

And I think that in Europe we can learn quite a lot from what is happening in Latin America: Latin America has one of the cleanest energy balances anywhere in the world, with almost half of the electricity coming from green sources thanks to its gigantic potential for renewables!  

And this potential extends well beyond the energy sector for instance with regard to natural assets and raw materials.

I believe there is a very strong basis to further develop our links to join forces for common goals, to develop eye-level cooperation and to multiply investment where this is most needed and I will come back to that in a second. 

As the EU Bank, globally, the European Investment Bank is an investment bridge between the two regions and it is a key component in the EU’s value proposition, in particular through the Global Gateway initiative. 

Our specialised arm EIB Global, which is very close to my heart, is an instrument for the European Union to promote partnerships worldwide not just with sophisticated and emerging markets, but also with vulnerable countries. 

At EIB we are fully supportive of the updated Bridgetown Initiative, led by prime minister Mia Mottley of Barbados. We are already implementing several of the policies it advocates, like including clauses in our financing contracts that allow for suspension of payments when climate disaster strike, and longer loan tenors coupled with concessional financing. 

I am convinced that Public Banks, like EIB and our fellow Latin American IFIs, have a unique role and responsibility to play in reaching the SDGs. But for that we need to put our money where our mouth is! 

At the EIB, we are committed to doing so. We have already signed 16 Global Gateway Initiative contracts in the region, totaling €1.9 billion. And we expect to mobilize an additional €5.1 billion in the coming years.

Last year, almost 80% of our operations in the region were for climate mitigation and adaptation projects.

Currently, we are working on a number of exciting projects including the Renewable Hydrogen Funding Platform for Chile, the Peru-Ecuador interconnector as well as a programme aimed at supporting small-scale green investments in the Caribbean and water security projects across the region.

Mobilizing private capital will be vital to achieve our common goals, and we need new models, like the European Union’s Global Green Bond Initiative, to crowd in more private investors the opportunities to step up investments has never been more manifold!

Ladies and gentlemen, 

Partnerships must be based on trust, respect, and common understanding.

I know that we can bring real life to this word. We have the resources, the skills, and the determination to do so. And we have the shared values that will guide us along the way.

I am looking forward to taking our partnership to the next level at the Finance in Common Summit in Cartagena this September.

I truly hope many of you will join us in building a more sustainable and prosperous future for Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Thank you.