1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 Brussels Live Transcribed and translated by AI 2 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 Good morning. 3 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 Good morning, everyone. 4 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 Good morning. 5 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 Okay. This feels like a reunion, but I will ask you to all take your seats as we're 6 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 going to begin. 7 00:00:00,844 --> 00:00:06,524 Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Dear Sheba, Excellencies, dear colleagues, 8 00:00:06,609 --> 00:00:09,791 it's a real pleasure to be with you this morning. 9 00:00:09,844 --> 00:00:17,803 Welcome to the launch of Invest Frontier, I love the word frontier, on a map it is 10 00:00:17,926 --> 00:00:25,518 just a line, but for explorers it was always a place where the known world ended and 11 00:00:25,603 --> 00:00:32,434 new possibilities began. I hope we bring that same spirit here today, explorers with 12 00:00:32,532 --> 00:00:39,601 the courage to try something new. And I'm sure we are all explorers in this room, 13 00:00:39,671 --> 00:00:45,475 and I want to thank especially those of you who've crossed oceans and continents to 14 00:00:45,530 --> 00:00:50,962 be here on a special thanks to Tom Fletcher, dear Tom, for joining us today. 15 00:00:51,124 --> 00:00:56,536 Invest Frontier is a new platform. We have created with the World Economic Forum to 16 00:00:56,598 --> 00:01:01,491 bring businesses and investors together with humanitarian organizations. 17 00:01:01,564 --> 00:01:07,864 Today we have 70 representatives around the table from UN agencies, and NGOs, to 18 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:13,024 financial institutions, private companies, philanthropies, and governments of 19 00:01:13,084 --> 00:01:19,913 course. We don't always speak the same language, we use different acronyms, we come 20 00:01:19,971 --> 00:01:25,063 from different words, but we all believe we can make a difference. 21 00:01:25,144 --> 00:01:32,829 So let me reassure you, we are not here to talk about moral duty or lofty ideals, we 22 00:01:32,926 --> 00:01:40,552 are here to talk business. To explore opportunities attract investment, open new 23 00:01:40,624 --> 00:01:46,717 markets, and find new ways of working. More than half of you around this table come 24 00:01:46,781 --> 00:01:52,088 from the private sector, and I certainly don't intend to waste your valuable time. 25 00:01:52,204 --> 00:01:58,480 Today 2 billion people live in areas hit by conflicts and crisis. 26 00:01:58,564 --> 00:02:05,164 That's 1 in 4 people on this planet. This is an enormous humanitarian challenge. 27 00:02:05,284 --> 00:02:11,134 But it is also one of the greatest untapped economic opportunities of all time. 28 00:02:11,284 --> 00:02:18,111 Picture a displaced refugee. Struggling to grow enough food to feed her family, and 29 00:02:18,210 --> 00:02:23,344 now imagine that same refugee having access to innovative irrigation system 30 00:02:23,394 --> 00:02:28,086 developed on the other side of the world. The reality on the ground could look 31 00:02:28,144 --> 00:02:34,547 radically different for her. The European Commission and our member states are the 32 00:02:34,618 --> 00:02:38,164 world's largest humanitarian donors, but humanitarian aid 33 00:02:38,224 --> 00:02:43,794 alone cannot solve a humanitarian crisis. We need humanitarian organizations, 34 00:02:43,864 --> 00:02:49,077 development finance institutions, and the private sector working hand in hand. 35 00:02:49,144 --> 00:02:54,028 Public-private partnerships in developing countries are nothing new. 36 00:02:54,124 --> 00:02:59,791 The challenge is to make them work in places hit by crisis where businesses and 37 00:02:59,838 --> 00:03:03,889 investment are hardest to attract and most needed. 38 00:03:04,024 --> 00:03:08,910 That means finding new ways to bring investment into fragile markets, reducing risk 39 00:03:08,992 --> 00:03:14,869 for businesses, and challenging the assumptions that these places are simply too 40 00:03:14,944 --> 00:03:22,429 risky to invest in. When local businesses grow, they create jobs, and a steady wage 41 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:27,127 means a family relies less on the next aid convoy. 42 00:03:27,244 --> 00:03:30,291 These partnerships must work for everyone. 43 00:03:30,364 --> 00:03:36,247 This is not charity, it is about real business opportunities that also meet real 44 00:03:36,354 --> 00:03:43,988 human needs. When people have jobs and essential services, and businesses find room 45 00:03:44,065 --> 00:03:49,244 to grow, everyone wins. We already have examples that prove this work. 46 00:03:49,444 --> 00:03:55,555 Now we need to scale them up. And that's why we created Invest Frontier, to bring 47 00:03:55,608 --> 00:03:59,455 people around the same table who don't often sit together; 48 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:06,179 it is rare, I have to say, to see all of you in one room and that's exactly the 49 00:04:06,337 --> 00:04:12,188 point. I don't want Invest Frontier to be just another conference where we exchange 50 00:04:12,263 --> 00:04:16,920 business cards and go home. We want results. 51 00:04:17,044 --> 00:04:23,528 So today together we Sheba, we will present promising initiatives that already exist 52 00:04:23,584 --> 00:04:29,721 and could go much further with the right support and investment. 53 00:04:29,824 --> 00:04:36,424 Dear friends, we choose the name Invest Frontier to go beyond what has been done 54 00:04:36,531 --> 00:04:43,019 before. The explorers never knew what exactly lay beyond the line on the map. 55 00:04:43,144 --> 00:04:50,713 They went. Anyway. Together let's take this opportunity and let's go. 56 00:04:50,824 --> 00:04:53,224 Thank you and dear Sheba, the floor is yours. 57 00:04:54,724 --> 00:05:02,544 Thank you. It's a hard act to follow, but thank you very much to you and thank you 58 00:05:02,587 --> 00:05:06,891 to the European Commission for really being a true partner in this effort and to our 59 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:11,876 Invest Frontier leadership group. It's nice to see many of you around the table. 60 00:05:11,944 --> 00:05:15,775 And you have really helped to shape the ambition and the practical agenda that we 61 00:05:15,827 --> 00:05:19,959 are launching today. So Excellencies, colleagues and friends, and I have to say it's 62 00:05:20,002 --> 00:05:24,055 been a particular joy to see so many friends already this morning. 63 00:05:24,124 --> 00:05:28,188 The past two years and I think in fact really we know a lot longer than that have 64 00:05:28,241 --> 00:05:33,840 been a time of profound disruption. We have seen its effects across sectors, 65 00:05:33,922 --> 00:05:39,533 portfolios, budgets, and partnerships, and that reality as Hadja was just saying has 66 00:05:39,586 --> 00:05:44,564 really created a clear imperative and that's why we're here today, to move beyond 67 00:05:44,644 --> 00:05:48,328 debating what needs to change and to begin delivering it. 68 00:05:48,424 --> 00:05:53,813 When we talk about fragile and frontier markets we often lead with what is missing, 69 00:05:53,884 --> 00:05:59,561 capital infrastructure, capacity, stability, the gaps and investment risks are 70 00:05:59,626 --> 00:06:04,028 certainly real, but despite these realities we also know that there are thriving 71 00:06:04,078 --> 00:06:08,596 partnerships and business models there are countries and communities marked by 72 00:06:08,668 --> 00:06:14,902 entrepreneurship, by innovation and adaptability, and places where solutions are 73 00:06:15,004 --> 00:06:18,178 resulting in real economic growth are already being built; 74 00:06:18,243 --> 00:06:22,532 they are already underway. And that's why I think we've brought together the two 75 00:06:22,587 --> 00:06:27,829 pillars that we have in Invest Frontier, to because this distinction between crisis 76 00:06:27,882 --> 00:06:32,074 response and economic development is increasingly inadequate. 77 00:06:32,164 --> 00:06:36,943 People need safety, people need essential services, they also need jobs, they also 78 00:06:36,987 --> 00:06:41,004 need functioning markets, they also need reliable infrastructure, they also need 79 00:06:41,084 --> 00:06:45,736 opportunity to build a future. Bringing the right opportunities and partners 80 00:06:45,784 --> 00:06:50,460 together is one of the world economic forums distinctive contributions. 81 00:06:50,524 --> 00:06:55,488 We do help to convene actors that are not always together in the same room. 82 00:06:55,564 --> 00:07:00,245 We connect those responding to crisis today with those who are investing in markets 83 00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:02,464 and building the institutions that create 84 00:07:02,584 --> 00:07:09,424 jobs and drive economic growth. And with Invest Frontier we are helping to turn what 85 00:07:09,504 --> 00:07:16,532 is a broad ambition into practical collaboration centered on solutions that can be 86 00:07:16,613 --> 00:07:23,978 adapted, scaled, and replicated. And we are doing that in a way that we anticipate 87 00:07:24,124 --> 00:07:29,072 will give a clearer path for what we all have been talking about a long time, for a 88 00:07:29,129 --> 00:07:35,224 long time in different ways, how to engage the private sector, really as partners 89 00:07:35,297 --> 00:07:40,937 around the table and not as an afterthought in conversations or as a place to go in 90 00:07:41,003 --> 00:07:46,555 hopes of more financing. So today as Hadja said we are bringing forward an initial 91 00:07:46,621 --> 00:07:52,539 portfolio of 10 partner-led solutions; these are solutions that address practical 92 00:07:52,596 --> 00:07:58,188 challenges, strengthening crisis response, using technology more effectively, 93 00:07:58,261 --> 00:08:03,474 mobilizing investment, supporting local enterprise, and building more resilient 94 00:08:03,559 --> 00:08:08,093 markets. And I want to stress that these solutions are a starting point. 95 00:08:08,164 --> 00:08:10,634 What we are doing today is launching this effort. 96 00:08:10,684 --> 00:08:15,800 This is not a closed list. We already have six additional solutions that have been 97 00:08:15,862 --> 00:08:20,874 identified for further development. And we remain open to further proposals. 98 00:08:20,944 --> 00:08:25,255 But importantly our ambition goes beyond a set of solutions. 99 00:08:25,324 --> 00:08:31,110 What we really are aiming to do is to transform how we work in fragile and frontier 100 00:08:31,174 --> 00:08:37,580 markets to ensure greater resilience and durability and to do that with a broader 101 00:08:37,663 --> 00:08:43,642 and sustained broader set of partners. And that means among other things moving from 102 00:08:43,704 --> 00:08:49,142 external intermediaries to locally led delivery and capital, moving from fragmented 103 00:08:49,216 --> 00:08:55,424 one-off interventions to a more collaborative ecosystem, moving from grants alone to 104 00:08:55,491 --> 00:09:01,022 catalytic and smart finance, moving from seeing fragile and frontier markets as aid 105 00:09:01,084 --> 00:09:07,093 recipients to recognizing them as growth markets, and from treating technology only 106 00:09:07,165 --> 00:09:11,464 as an enabler to understanding the role that it can play at the center of 107 00:09:11,524 --> 00:09:14,742 sustainable transformation. What can we do? 108 00:09:14,824 --> 00:09:19,546 We will broker the partnerships that help these solutions scale and move forward, 109 00:09:19,624 --> 00:09:24,799 connect solution owners to the capital, the expertise, the technology, the markets, 110 00:09:24,855 --> 00:09:27,244 and the policy partners they need, and champion 111 00:09:27,784 --> 00:09:33,831 successes that demonstrate practical pathways to scale across our networks. 112 00:09:33,904 --> 00:09:38,631 So our ask today of all of you is to help us create those pathways. 113 00:09:38,704 --> 00:09:43,084 Strengthen one of the solutions already selected, propose a new solution, bring 114 00:09:43,144 --> 00:09:47,558 capital or expertise or open access to technology or markets. 115 00:09:47,644 --> 00:09:52,729 For those who will be at our annual meeting in 2027, we are looking forward to 116 00:09:52,784 --> 00:09:56,854 progressing this effort there through a series of planned conversations and 117 00:09:56,944 --> 00:10:03,844 convenings. And by Davos 2028, we together will deliver results. 118 00:10:03,964 --> 00:10:08,522 Modernized crisis response, strengthened local business and infrastructure, 119 00:10:08,584 --> 00:10:13,727 increased capital and capability, reaching underserved markets, and partnerships 120 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:18,576 that create jobs, resilience, and that underpin economic growth. 121 00:10:18,664 --> 00:10:25,142 We'll present a series of models that showcase not only how this work could be done 122 00:10:25,204 --> 00:10:28,634 differently, but that it is already being done differently. 123 00:10:28,684 --> 00:10:34,431 And at scale in difficult environments. Invest Frontier gives us this opportunity 124 00:10:34,504 --> 00:10:37,568 and we look forward to advancing it together with all of you. 125 00:10:37,624 --> 00:10:38,824 Thank you. 126 00:10:43,744 --> 00:10:46,151 Well, let me add my welcome and good morning. 127 00:10:46,204 --> 00:10:49,044 I'm Raj Kumar. I'm the president, editor, and chief of DevEx. 128 00:10:49,084 --> 00:10:52,964 I just got here from Washington, D. C. and I don't know what it is about this week, 129 00:10:52,999 --> 00:10:56,727 but I've never had a warmer welcome in Brussels. 130 00:10:56,824 --> 00:11:00,697 And it is wonderful to be with all of you, to be with Commissioner Laveef, to be 131 00:11:00,755 --> 00:11:04,418 with Shiba for what I think is some news. This is actual news. 132 00:11:04,504 --> 00:11:09,014 You are, as a group, doing something together with some accountability, with the 133 00:11:09,064 --> 00:11:13,904 timeline that is very in tune with kind of the meta themes that we've been covering 134 00:11:13,944 --> 00:11:16,986 at DevEx and all of us have experienced the last couple of years. 135 00:11:17,044 --> 00:11:21,907 The theme around the political economy, around the aid industry, the idea that cuts 136 00:11:21,964 --> 00:11:26,625 are here, they're probably here to stay in some way regardless of election shifts. 137 00:11:26,704 --> 00:11:29,597 And that this community needs to work in a new way. 138 00:11:29,704 --> 00:11:33,951 And needs to draw a bigger circle around what we mean by humanitarian response and 139 00:11:34,006 --> 00:11:38,237 development, a circle that includes the private sector, that includes philanthropy, 140 00:11:38,284 --> 00:11:42,702 that includes new and innovative models as well as the core crisis response 141 00:11:42,784 --> 00:11:46,564 humanitarian and development work that is so essential in so many places. 142 00:11:46,624 --> 00:11:50,131 And just to underline what places we're talking about, this is 1. 143 00:11:50,224 --> 00:11:53,693 8 billion people. This is not a niche issue. 144 00:11:53,764 --> 00:11:58,744 And these economies as we have begun making this shift toward a more private, 145 00:11:58,804 --> 00:12:03,103 finance-focused sector have largely been left behind. 146 00:12:03,184 --> 00:12:04,591 Many of you are working on this every day. 147 00:12:04,624 --> 00:12:09,304 It's not to say there isn't great effort, but in these economies 20% of the world's 148 00:12:09,364 --> 00:12:13,904 population lives but only 5% of the world's productivity exists. 149 00:12:13,984 --> 00:12:21,451 And we're talking about a place where 70 countries or so by 2050 it will be more 150 00:12:21,523 --> 00:12:25,511 than a third of the world's working age population living in those countries. 151 00:12:25,564 --> 00:12:29,420 So their destiny is very much intertwined with the destiny of all of us regardless 152 00:12:29,458 --> 00:12:31,742 of what country you come from in the world. 153 00:12:31,804 --> 00:12:34,677 And the question is, can something more systemic be done? 154 00:12:34,744 --> 00:12:37,915 And I think that's what the European Commission and the World Economic Forum are 155 00:12:37,956 --> 00:12:39,156 bringing us together 156 00:12:39,484 --> 00:12:43,166 here today to discuss and what I hope is going to be a really dynamic session. 157 00:12:43,204 --> 00:12:47,024 We're starting with an on the record formal series of remarks, but we will move 158 00:12:47,072 --> 00:12:50,424 toward a really open conversation where I hope all of you will have a chance to 159 00:12:50,471 --> 00:12:54,717 participate and debate and discuss how we move this forward. 160 00:12:54,844 --> 00:12:58,846 I just want to say we did a survey earlier this year at DevEx and we asked our 161 00:12:58,924 --> 00:13:02,512 audience globally what do you think is holding us back? 162 00:13:02,584 --> 00:13:08,482 Why is it that billions to trillions has become sort of a punchline in a way? 163 00:13:08,644 --> 00:13:11,949 Some people talk about the magic pony of private finance, right? 164 00:13:12,004 --> 00:13:15,720 This idea that theoretically we'll get there, but why do we keep talking about it 165 00:13:15,764 --> 00:13:20,673 but not achieving it? And then the top response from our survey participants was 166 00:13:20,735 --> 00:13:25,842 this idea of misalignment. Everybody wants this, but ultimately we don't gather 167 00:13:25,897 --> 00:13:29,944 around one table and find those incentives that work for everyone. 168 00:13:30,004 --> 00:13:33,047 And I think that's what Invest Frontier is trying to solve. 169 00:13:33,184 --> 00:13:35,589 And that's what we're here today to discuss. 170 00:13:35,644 --> 00:13:40,398 So with that, I want to welcome all of you once again and open this up to our 171 00:13:40,482 --> 00:13:44,536 initial speakers. For this on the record session, we have a couple of speakers who 172 00:13:44,572 --> 00:13:47,459 are going to join us virtually, and then we're going to hear from a few others in 173 00:13:47,494 --> 00:13:49,628 the room, and then we'll begin our broader session. 174 00:13:49,684 --> 00:13:55,629 So with that, I'd like to ask Kirsty McNeil who moved from one side of the table to 175 00:13:55,683 --> 00:14:00,169 another side of the table now. She has a long career in the humanitarian and 176 00:14:00,225 --> 00:14:03,822 development space, but of course now is the Minister of State for International 177 00:14:03,860 --> 00:14:08,767 Development in the UK at a particularly important time with the G20. 178 00:14:08,884 --> 00:14:12,482 And so we're very eager to hear your thoughts, Kirsty, on these topics. 179 00:14:12,544 --> 00:14:13,744 Please, Minister McNeil. 180 00:14:14,644 --> 00:14:21,223 Thank you, Raj. Can everybody hear me? Can people hear me? 181 00:14:21,364 --> 00:14:26,182 Yes? Okay. Thank you, Raj. And thank you, Hadja and Shiba, for bringing us together. 182 00:14:26,284 --> 00:14:31,853 I feel so optimistic and excited to be joining you at the launch of Invest Frontier, 183 00:14:31,896 --> 00:14:36,362 but I don't need to tell anyone gathered in this room that we are meeting at a very 184 00:14:36,409 --> 00:14:40,438 difficult moment. So we are seeing climate change damage hitting developing 185 00:14:40,478 --> 00:14:46,172 countries. We are braced, of course, for the worst El Niño on record, conflict and 186 00:14:46,219 --> 00:14:51,313 instability is harming too many people in too many places, and as we know so well, 187 00:14:51,377 --> 00:14:56,199 humanitarian needs are growing. And funding is shrinking. 188 00:14:56,284 --> 00:15:00,959 And so that context makes it incumbent on us to make hard choices. 189 00:15:01,024 --> 00:15:06,064 About where to focus our efforts. But it also means that we have to find new ways to 190 00:15:06,124 --> 00:15:11,914 bring more resources to the table. Now, let me just underscore and be clear. 191 00:15:12,004 --> 00:15:16,321 Our view is that traditional grant financing is going to remain the mainstay of 192 00:15:16,384 --> 00:15:21,390 humanitarian funding. But there are places where public finance can help unlock 193 00:15:21,448 --> 00:15:24,784 private capital that can help spread risk and it can help support locally led 194 00:15:24,824 --> 00:15:28,724 solutions. And that's why we're all here. And that is incredibly important because 195 00:15:28,772 --> 00:15:31,756 people living through a crisis, they do need more than aid. 196 00:15:31,864 --> 00:15:34,972 Now, they do need aid, but they need more than aid. 197 00:15:35,044 --> 00:15:39,424 They need services, they need jobs, they need the chance to really rebuild their 198 00:15:39,484 --> 00:15:43,657 lives. And that's where private investment can have such a huge impact. 199 00:15:43,744 --> 00:15:47,894 Now, some of you may have seen the launch of British International Investment's new 200 00:15:47,947 --> 00:15:52,872 strategy, which targets 25% of new core investments at the least developed 201 00:15:52,924 --> 00:15:57,628 countries. So if you look at somewhere like DRC, what BII is backing is the 202 00:15:57,692 --> 00:16:00,481 country's first deep water containment port. 203 00:16:00,544 --> 00:16:05,448 We're hoping that that will generate about 85,000 jobs and generate over a billion 204 00:16:05,524 --> 00:16:10,179 dollars in additional trade. But we're looking beyond the individual investments 205 00:16:10,232 --> 00:16:15,784 important, though they are for something like BII, we actually are trying to ensure 206 00:16:15,844 --> 00:16:18,604 that BII and other instruments can help build the markets 207 00:16:18,724 --> 00:16:22,100 and institutions that can sustain that investment over time. 208 00:16:22,204 --> 00:16:26,530 So again, if you look at something like FSD Africa, which was established by the UK, 209 00:16:26,584 --> 00:16:30,228 we're working with the Ethiopian government to set up the country's first modern 210 00:16:30,283 --> 00:16:33,724 securities exchange. It has already listed seven companies. 211 00:16:33,784 --> 00:16:39,016 More than 47,000 Ethiopians have become shareholders in their national telecoms 212 00:16:39,064 --> 00:16:43,168 company. And we need to change the international systems too, and you'll have heard 213 00:16:43,212 --> 00:16:47,484 the Foreign Secretary talk about that a lot in Bangkok about what our agenda is for 214 00:16:47,557 --> 00:16:52,331 the G20 presidency. But let me just focus for a moment on the fact that we will be 215 00:16:52,415 --> 00:16:57,218 zeroing in in particular on how the MDBs can use their balance sheets more 216 00:16:57,263 --> 00:17:01,140 effectively, taking on risks at the private sector can't and won't, and transferring 217 00:17:01,192 --> 00:17:05,607 risks that investors can bear and we'd want to do that because it frees up capital 218 00:17:05,653 --> 00:17:09,769 for new investments, including in fragile and frontier markets. 219 00:17:09,844 --> 00:17:14,464 And as we all know so well, if we want sustained investment in these markets, we 220 00:17:14,524 --> 00:17:19,277 have to protect both people and economies from the shocks that can just wipe out 221 00:17:19,335 --> 00:17:24,124 progress overnight. And that's why we are such strong believers in pre-arranged 222 00:17:24,196 --> 00:17:28,377 finance. So earlier this year, the UK committed additional funds to the Natural 223 00:17:28,434 --> 00:17:33,504 Disaster Fund, which is already mobilized 150 million dollars in private capital, to 224 00:17:33,555 --> 00:17:38,038 develop insurance that gives vulnerable communities reliable support when disasters 225 00:17:38,104 --> 00:17:43,084 hit. And of course, we've supported new anticipatory action insurance to help us act 226 00:17:43,144 --> 00:17:50,203 before a crisis escalates. Now, for our family, that is braced for flood or drought, 227 00:17:50,284 --> 00:17:55,338 that means everything because it's the difference between losing everything that 228 00:17:55,387 --> 00:17:58,483 they've worked so hard for and being able to recover. 229 00:17:58,564 --> 00:18:03,511 So I'm so pleased to be with you. I am so impressed and awed by the people that have 230 00:18:03,581 --> 00:18:07,594 been gathered today. And I just want to invite all of us to not waste this 231 00:18:07,639 --> 00:18:11,444 opportunity. Let's take the time of being together as investors, as partners, as 232 00:18:11,491 --> 00:18:14,944 development and humanitarian actors to really think about where can these 233 00:18:15,064 --> 00:18:17,528 approaches make the very biggest difference? 234 00:18:17,584 --> 00:18:21,087 Where can they help us reach more people and crucially sooner? 235 00:18:21,184 --> 00:18:24,814 That's how we're going to be able to get more security for people today and a much 236 00:18:24,864 --> 00:18:26,884 better chance for them to rebuild for tomorrow. 237 00:18:28,624 --> 00:18:33,811 Thank you so much, Minister, and thank you for pleasing applaud. 238 00:18:34,204 --> 00:18:37,804 I hope you can hear that. There's warm applause for you in the room. 239 00:18:37,864 --> 00:18:42,072 Kirsty and we are thrilled to hear you frame this as an opportunity and to underline 240 00:18:42,124 --> 00:18:45,421 the urgency that I think we're going to hear a lot about today. 241 00:18:45,484 --> 00:18:48,967 I want to welcome to our conversation His Excellency Dr. 242 00:18:49,024 --> 00:18:53,658 Abdallah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiha, who is joining us from Saudi Arabia, where he's 243 00:18:53,704 --> 00:18:58,271 the Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. 244 00:18:58,324 --> 00:19:03,227 And you should know he is also a noted pediatric surgeon and former Minister of 245 00:19:03,266 --> 00:19:06,684 Health of this country. So we're thrilled and delighted to have you join us for some 246 00:19:06,724 --> 00:19:07,924 brief remarks. Thank you. 247 00:19:09,604 --> 00:19:14,145 Thank. You, good morning, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. 248 00:19:14,224 --> 00:19:22,054 Let me start by expressing my sincere appreciation to the mission and also to the 249 00:19:22,129 --> 00:19:26,696 World Economic Forum for convening this very important gathering: 250 00:19:26,764 --> 00:19:34,832 Invest Frontier. Today has provided over 145 billion US dollars in humanitarian 251 00:19:34,905 --> 00:19:42,544 assistance to more than 175 countries. KS Relief has implemented more than 4,000 252 00:19:42,664 --> 00:19:50,682 projects exceeding a budget of 8.5 billion US dollars in 113 nations. 253 00:19:50,824 --> 00:19:58,958 We can no longer continue to view fragile and frontier markets solely through the 254 00:19:59,027 --> 00:20:03,604 lens of endless vulnerability and perpetual relief. 255 00:20:03,724 --> 00:20:11,477 They must instead be approached as a potential of opportunity locally led growth and 256 00:20:11,565 --> 00:20:17,552 also sustainable resilience. I would like to present three main priorities that 257 00:20:17,607 --> 00:20:25,048 should direct our work. Firstly, international humanitarian law must be respected 258 00:20:25,144 --> 00:20:33,248 aid workers must be protected and secure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must 259 00:20:33,353 --> 00:20:40,464 be allowed. Without reliable unhindered access, no viable market activity or 260 00:20:40,564 --> 00:20:48,187 economic recovery can take root. Secondly, principled localization of aid activities 261 00:20:48,304 --> 00:20:54,122 must be introduced without increasing the level of risk and the burden upon 262 00:20:54,203 --> 00:21:01,238 communities. Thirdly, there is a need to deploy a catalytic cross-sector financing 263 00:21:01,324 --> 00:21:08,031 donor grants alone cannot close the widening funding gaps the world is experiencing 264 00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:15,222 today. Our role is to deploy public funding strategically leveraging blended finance 265 00:21:15,304 --> 00:21:22,433 risk sharing mechanisms accountability and also private capital or unlock investment 266 00:21:22,504 --> 00:21:30,200 in high-risk frontier markets. While ensuring sustainable locally driven impact. 267 00:21:30,304 --> 00:21:38,574 Finally, let us work together from Brussels to Davos and beyond to transform relief 268 00:21:38,656 --> 00:21:46,043 into resilience unlock shared prosperity and turn fragile frontiers into thriving 269 00:21:46,114 --> 00:21:49,871 centers of dignity and opportunity for all. 270 00:21:49,984 --> 00:21:51,184 Thank you. 271 00:21:56,164 --> 00:22:01,404 Thank you so much. I want to turn now to Tom Fletcher sitting next to me here at the 272 00:22:01,484 --> 00:22:05,467 table. Tom, you come from the field very often. 273 00:22:05,524 --> 00:22:07,524 You're on the road more than almost anyone I know. 274 00:22:07,564 --> 00:22:11,241 Actually visiting and seeing the challenges people are facing and you have to 275 00:22:11,287 --> 00:22:17,025 somehow find a way in this difficult fiscal environment to make stretch the money to 276 00:22:17,083 --> 00:22:21,268 achieve and meet today's needs. While also thinking about how to reform the system. 277 00:22:21,304 --> 00:22:24,184 So I'm very eager to hear your thoughts about where we go from here. 278 00:22:26,164 --> 00:22:29,604 Well. Thank you so much, Raj. And thank you, Hadjar and Shiba, for bringing this 279 00:22:29,644 --> 00:22:34,698 excellent group together. And for the spirit of the conversation as well, pioneers, 280 00:22:34,779 --> 00:22:41,042 Kirsty said opportunity that sense of energy that is in this conversation. 281 00:22:41,104 --> 00:22:45,498 As you say, Raj, I'm often out there on the field as many of my colleagues here, 282 00:22:45,544 --> 00:22:50,159 Kathy and Chowder and others from the ISC principals and of course as well. 283 00:22:50,224 --> 00:22:55,580 And we'll be heading from here in the next few weeks from here to Timbuktu and then 284 00:22:55,635 --> 00:22:59,930 I hope before the end of the month into Taize, which is one of the hardest places to 285 00:23:00,013 --> 00:23:06,111 reach right now and on from there, to Gaza and south of the Latani River. 286 00:23:06,184 --> 00:23:11,981 In Lebanon as well. And what you find in all of those places, Raj, as you know, and 287 00:23:12,054 --> 00:23:16,939 in the places recovering from climate disasters, you know, I was recently in La 288 00:23:16,982 --> 00:23:22,942 Guaira after the earthquakes there and our teams have been responding to the floods 289 00:23:23,033 --> 00:23:29,634 in Nepal, for example. Is that when crisis hits, whether it's conflict or climate, 290 00:23:29,703 --> 00:23:35,154 people come together. And they don't come together and say, I'm a humanitarian 291 00:23:35,239 --> 00:23:39,732 you're a development person, you're private sector, you're civil society. 292 00:23:39,784 --> 00:23:46,868 They just come together as people. And that works at local level. 293 00:23:46,984 --> 00:23:51,964 But for so long now, despite our best efforts, it hasn't worked at the global level. 294 00:23:52,084 --> 00:23:55,118 When we get to the global level, it tends to pull apart. 295 00:23:55,264 --> 00:23:59,034 And we go to lots of meetings and we say, let's not work in silos. 296 00:23:59,104 --> 00:24:01,863 And then we go off and create separate plans. 297 00:24:01,924 --> 00:24:05,454 And we fundraise separately. And we communicate separately. 298 00:24:05,524 --> 00:24:10,255 About the thing, the very niche thing that we happen to be doing in our silos. 299 00:24:10,324 --> 00:24:15,364 So we've got to shift the mindset really to that collective spirit that we see at 300 00:24:15,424 --> 00:24:17,890 local level. We've got to get into delivery. 301 00:24:17,944 --> 00:24:23,995 And that's why Shiba and Shiba's focus with WEF on practical projects is so 302 00:24:24,076 --> 00:24:30,973 important. It's why across the ISC we're pushing these efficiency initiatives. 303 00:24:31,024 --> 00:24:34,806 We're working towards one supply chain, one procurement train. 304 00:24:34,864 --> 00:24:40,144 We're working on transitions through work that Alexander DeCrowe is leading for us. 305 00:24:40,144 --> 00:24:44,708 And why, you know, many of the organizations including here, you know, when Kathy 306 00:24:44,763 --> 00:24:49,630 and Youssef get stuck into a problem or Ugo and IOM, they're not thinking there's a 307 00:24:49,684 --> 00:24:51,796 humanitarian and development aspect of this. 308 00:24:51,844 --> 00:24:53,604 They're thinking what do we do for children? 309 00:24:53,644 --> 00:24:57,372 What do we do for people on the move? And that's the mindset we need. 310 00:24:57,424 --> 00:25:01,814 A complementarity mindset. Who's best place to deliver? 311 00:25:01,924 --> 00:25:08,224 Final couple of thoughts. I think that the argument for anticipatory action is won 312 00:25:08,304 --> 00:25:10,225 now. And we've just got to get on and do it. 313 00:25:10,264 --> 00:25:16,686 We now have the instruments, the tools to get ahead of crises, particularly climate 314 00:25:16,752 --> 00:25:21,602 crises. And we've got to be out there using the much more innovatively and driving 315 00:25:21,664 --> 00:25:25,415 for results. It's why I've released a hundred million from the emergency fund so 316 00:25:25,473 --> 00:25:28,854 that communities can prepare for the super el niño. 317 00:25:28,924 --> 00:25:31,544 We know which roads will be closed in a month's time. 318 00:25:31,624 --> 00:25:36,059 And so we can get the seeds at the other end of those roads before they're closed. 319 00:25:36,124 --> 00:25:41,692 And when we come to the private sector, the mindset shift for us has got to be that 320 00:25:41,757 --> 00:25:46,872 we move from saying we have a plan, please fund it, to basically saying we have a 321 00:25:46,924 --> 00:25:50,872 set of challenges here, please help us respond to them. 322 00:25:50,944 --> 00:25:56,116 How do we solve problems together? How do we create opportunities together? 323 00:25:56,224 --> 00:26:02,009 So we need you. We need this conversation, but more importantly, the people we serve 324 00:26:02,060 --> 00:26:04,564 need this conversation. So thank you for bringing us together. 325 00:26:05,164 --> 00:26:11,599 Thank you so much, Tom. Thank you for bringing some of the ground truth to the room, 326 00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,391 which we very much needed to hear. I appreciate that. 327 00:26:14,464 --> 00:26:17,235 I want to welcome Jacqueline Novogratz to the discussion. 328 00:26:17,284 --> 00:26:19,396 Jacqueline is the founder and CEO of Acumen. 329 00:26:19,444 --> 00:26:23,369 You've been at this for a long time. You in some ways invented this space, you and 330 00:26:23,418 --> 00:26:27,558 your colleagues at Acumen. So it's not new, but I'm very eager to hear what you 331 00:26:27,619 --> 00:26:31,427 think this moment demands of us, what we can do differently today when it comes to 332 00:26:31,479 --> 00:26:34,684 investing in some of these most fragile markets around the world. 333 00:26:35,344 --> 00:26:40,918 Thanks, Raj, and thanks for your voice. And to the World Economic Forum and European 334 00:26:40,988 --> 00:26:43,569 Commission, this is just a spectacular room. 335 00:26:43,624 --> 00:26:49,656 And it's so represents the kinds of conversations we need to have picking up from 336 00:26:49,841 --> 00:26:58,446 Tom. What I want to say is that just like no single organization or grant maker is 337 00:26:58,527 --> 00:27:03,403 going to fix the problems that we have neither is any single investor. 338 00:27:03,484 --> 00:27:09,500 And that the only way we solve these problems for the long term with resilience is 339 00:27:09,599 --> 00:27:15,287 through new blends of capital new kinds of partnership, more daring and I dare say 340 00:27:15,369 --> 00:27:21,579 really working on trust and honesty. I've been asked to just give a really quick 341 00:27:21,618 --> 00:27:24,984 example, which is hard with this example, but here goes. 342 00:27:25,144 --> 00:27:30,445 So I won't bore you with off-grid electrification, except that 700 million people on 343 00:27:30,493 --> 00:27:35,455 the planet still have no electricity, which is mind boggling in an age of AI. 344 00:27:35,644 --> 00:27:43,097 And massive climate change. What we did as an example is what's called the hardest 345 00:27:43,138 --> 00:27:47,919 to reach with some of the amazing partners sitting around this table. 346 00:27:48,064 --> 00:27:56,321 It's essentially a 250 million dollar initiative 23 different partners came together 347 00:27:56,404 --> 00:28:03,230 from philanthropists that allowed us to take early stage concessionary, long term 348 00:28:03,304 --> 00:28:08,498 equity investments in countries like Somalia and Benin and Burkina Faso where that 349 00:28:08,550 --> 00:28:13,689 kind of capital doesn't go in. The private sector without I would dare say 350 00:28:13,739 --> 00:28:18,974 philanthropy wasn't coming in. Connected to that then a 200 million dollar 351 00:28:19,045 --> 00:28:24,697 concessionary a lending facility with first loss capital and really, really 352 00:28:24,782 --> 00:28:30,361 importantly grant money for technical assistance, which I think we have to redefine. 353 00:28:30,484 --> 00:28:36,156 That's the overall structure. It included players not only philanthropists but the 354 00:28:36,263 --> 00:28:47,107 World Bank Group and the IF including the IFC, BII as was stated FCDO, GAP and each 355 00:28:47,152 --> 00:28:51,897 understood the kind of capital they were bringing at the top Shinhan, Korea's 356 00:28:51,961 --> 00:28:57,170 largest commercial bank. Each bringing in different expertise. 357 00:28:57,244 --> 00:29:03,500 So that partnership allowed us to take the right kind of capital to fit the market. 358 00:29:03,604 --> 00:29:09,124 Each country has bespoke needs. And we also have to be comfortable with that. 359 00:29:09,124 --> 00:29:14,580 And that brings us to trust. I don't know how many times I write or call Ana Bejard 360 00:29:14,646 --> 00:29:20,638 at the World Bank to talk about specific needs in a country particularly with 361 00:29:20,704 --> 00:29:27,277 results-based financing without that this wouldn't be working in the way that it's 362 00:29:27,357 --> 00:29:34,681 working. Or. Calling the Norwegians to think about the we structure technical 363 00:29:34,736 --> 00:29:40,999 assistance with expectations in one way but the reality is of a situation given 364 00:29:41,074 --> 00:29:46,612 currency devaluations and the inability to convert back into dollars that we needed 365 00:29:46,666 --> 00:29:52,527 to use it in a different way. The only reason you get to yes is because you've had a 366 00:29:52,585 --> 00:29:56,370 long working relationship and they know you will tell you the truth. 367 00:29:56,524 --> 00:30:03,634 So I would say that we all all of us need to work on that piece of it. 368 00:30:03,784 --> 00:30:09,134 And then finally and I've learned so much about partnership and trust and hope we 369 00:30:09,178 --> 00:30:14,450 can talk about it. We just need a new level of daring a new way to think about risk 370 00:30:14,524 --> 00:30:20,284 and while I sort of agree that this isn't about moral imperatives I also think we 371 00:30:20,332 --> 00:30:25,528 need to think about the risk of not daring because what we're talking about here is 372 00:30:25,583 --> 00:30:29,854 not just financial risk. It is environmental risk. 373 00:30:29,944 --> 00:30:36,064 It is social risk. And it is moral risk when as Raj said one third of the human 374 00:30:36,124 --> 00:30:42,242 population is being excluded at a time where AI is only going to accelerate the 375 00:30:42,307 --> 00:30:48,228 inequality that we have. So I am so excited to be here and so grateful for all the 376 00:30:48,289 --> 00:30:52,817 learning and the ability we've been able to do things because of the people sitting 377 00:30:52,875 --> 00:30:54,075 around this table. 378 00:30:55,204 --> 00:31:02,181 Thank you so much, Jacqueline. Thank you and thank you for bringing this important 379 00:31:02,224 --> 00:31:06,500 role of trust and honest dialogue which is certainly the spirit that I hope we can 380 00:31:06,544 --> 00:31:09,124 foster in this room today. So thank you for that. 381 00:31:09,184 --> 00:31:16,147 I want to ask Franny Letoier to join us. Franny, you invest every day in exactly the 382 00:31:16,186 --> 00:31:19,912 markets we're talking about and you have helped to design and drive the 383 00:31:19,984 --> 00:31:23,861 International Financial Architecture in a direction that does not neglect these 384 00:31:23,918 --> 00:31:27,424 economies. I'd love to hear how you see this opportunity right now. 385 00:31:29,644 --> 00:31:34,615 Thank you very much, Raj. And I really enjoyed hearing the opening remarks Hadja and 386 00:31:34,693 --> 00:31:37,389 Shiba and of course Minister Christie and Dr. 387 00:31:37,444 --> 00:31:40,520 Abdallah. And my colleagues here on the panel. 388 00:31:40,564 --> 00:31:45,481 I come at this from a very personal point of view because my career journey started 389 00:31:45,532 --> 00:31:50,672 in the multilateral development banks then migrated to run a foundation and then 390 00:31:50,730 --> 00:31:54,890 went back to the multilateral development banks but the original one in this case 391 00:31:54,960 --> 00:31:59,261 the African Development Bank then went to work for a regional sub-regional 392 00:31:59,323 --> 00:32:05,311 development bank TDB and then went to work in raising my own fund own capital and 393 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:07,979 working with colleagues in the private sector. 394 00:32:08,044 --> 00:32:11,572 And one of the things that struck me starting from the work I did with the 395 00:32:11,623 --> 00:32:17,944 foundation is that all of these forms of capital humanitarian development finance 396 00:32:18,064 --> 00:32:24,031 philanthropy and private capital are filling a very particular gap in the market but 397 00:32:24,106 --> 00:32:29,150 like the blind people touching the elephant we only see one part of the elephant and 398 00:32:29,206 --> 00:32:33,810 so now we need to you know get rid of the blinders and look at the full elephant and 399 00:32:33,858 --> 00:32:37,033 that gives us the opportunity to work very differently together. 400 00:32:37,084 --> 00:32:41,874 And those are the stories I'll share here very quickly in terms of what is possible. 401 00:32:41,944 --> 00:32:46,657 When we started out we really didn't get much hearing because people unlike the 402 00:32:46,707 --> 00:32:51,036 success that argument had had on a global scale when we're trying to work on this on 403 00:32:51,111 --> 00:32:56,099 a smaller scale there was a lot of it doesn't really match what we do we really look 404 00:32:56,143 --> 00:33:01,167 at it this way and there are very difficult to raise capital to address these types 405 00:33:01,241 --> 00:33:07,487 of issues. So we ended up putting our own capital and starting and then showing that 406 00:33:07,564 --> 00:33:13,171 it is actually possible. So in the health sector when we started we partnered with a 407 00:33:13,239 --> 00:33:19,028 foundation the Gates Foundation and they gave us half we put in equal 50-50 of 408 00:33:19,089 --> 00:33:24,434 lending capital to see whether you can give small and medium enterprises and those 409 00:33:24,486 --> 00:33:28,810 in the last mile distribution chain for essential medicines and medical equipment 410 00:33:28,864 --> 00:33:34,106 the kind of funding they need to actually do that regardless of the country in which 411 00:33:34,164 --> 00:33:35,344 they are in. 412 00:33:35,344 --> 00:33:40,406 And what is very surprising we have a beta phase running now for nearly a year zero 413 00:33:40,501 --> 00:33:46,609 NPLs which was a big surprise even to the investing team and an ability to scale and 414 00:33:46,684 --> 00:33:50,470 run with that solution quite quite quickly. 415 00:33:50,524 --> 00:33:55,234 So now we are at the stage to say okay now come and join us for scale. 416 00:33:55,324 --> 00:33:59,702 And the challenge with this is we started actually in urban markets but very quickly 417 00:33:59,764 --> 00:34:04,642 we were told you know there is this refugee community here that would really benefit 418 00:34:04,730 --> 00:34:08,939 from it. And then we had to think if you had to serve a refugee committee does the 419 00:34:08,995 --> 00:34:11,419 model change. And we realized actually it doesn't. 420 00:34:11,464 --> 00:34:15,559 What changes is your risk appetite and therefore through structuring you can find 421 00:34:15,604 --> 00:34:20,268 the solution for that. The second example I have again starting with our own 422 00:34:20,357 --> 00:34:27,939 investing our own capital is in the agroforestry restoration space. 423 00:34:28,024 --> 00:34:32,742 And again very quickly here you find that the carbon markets that everybody's trying 424 00:34:32,829 --> 00:34:37,735 to impact rely on these small farmers small holders who could actually deliver huge 425 00:34:37,830 --> 00:34:43,384 value generate income and at the same time contribute to the carbon credits that all 426 00:34:43,444 --> 00:34:48,020 the large companies are looking for. But there's not a match in terms of how to fund 427 00:34:48,069 --> 00:34:53,098 that. So again we went to this drawing board structured designed it in a way that 428 00:34:53,164 --> 00:34:57,747 gave it this opportunity space. And now you are finding large companies coming say 429 00:34:57,814 --> 00:35:03,124 I'll take the full 50,000 hectares. And so the farmers are getting a second third 430 00:35:03,196 --> 00:35:08,458 form of revenue and the beauty of it is with these super El Niño now the cocoa 431 00:35:08,564 --> 00:35:13,566 coffee tea farmers are seeing declining yields which will have a huge impact on 432 00:35:13,623 --> 00:35:17,978 local economies and therefore an opportunity for using carbon as a supplementary 433 00:35:18,027 --> 00:35:22,518 income for these types of farmers. I'll close with the last example because this one 434 00:35:22,564 --> 00:35:28,726 is very close to my heart. We were working with a small community providing working 435 00:35:28,792 --> 00:35:33,901 capital using digital platforms is why I'm a fan of AI used properly because we're 436 00:35:33,952 --> 00:35:40,285 able to use AI to go very fast and offer solutions to refugee camps to individuals 437 00:35:40,363 --> 00:35:42,844 in very small one and two person companies. 438 00:35:43,264 --> 00:35:48,152 During COVID and beyond. And that kind of financing became then the backbone to say 439 00:35:48,206 --> 00:35:51,532 you actually can reach these types of opportunities. 440 00:35:51,604 --> 00:35:58,085 It is not a philanthropic activity. It could be a business opportunity because we've 441 00:35:58,127 --> 00:36:01,680 shown that you could do it but you have to do the structuring right. 442 00:36:01,744 --> 00:36:06,290 Currency risk was huge. Credit risk was limited. 443 00:36:06,364 --> 00:36:09,252 So if you find those then you can find ways to do it. 444 00:36:09,304 --> 00:36:14,682 So I close by saying there is an opportunity now in a very excited with the G20 445 00:36:14,764 --> 00:36:18,474 presidency of the UK coming up in a few months to pick this up. 446 00:36:18,544 --> 00:36:23,944 MDB reforms so that these solutions are not one-time emergency crisis but can be a 447 00:36:24,004 --> 00:36:28,794 repeated vehicle going forward. Platform solutions bringing in the different stacks 448 00:36:28,852 --> 00:36:34,299 of capital from humanitarian to market capital capital market at the root because 449 00:36:34,350 --> 00:36:37,667 you need someone there when the aid goes away. 450 00:36:37,744 --> 00:36:40,503 Project preparation and pipeline development. 451 00:36:40,564 --> 00:36:43,524 I can't say more strongly what Jacqueline has just said. 452 00:36:43,564 --> 00:36:46,633 You need somebody to invest in that space. 453 00:36:46,804 --> 00:36:51,262 Asset recycling because there you have opportunity to reuse assets that have already 454 00:36:51,319 --> 00:36:56,931 been funded release capital to do more things and then partnerships and the trust 455 00:36:57,004 --> 00:37:01,844 issue I cannot agree more that can take you for the long term to deliver unique 456 00:37:01,901 --> 00:37:07,418 solutions. So for invest frontier start with a few country priorities a few local 457 00:37:07,492 --> 00:37:13,022 enterprises agree who prepares who buys who bears risk and a deadline for deployment 458 00:37:13,084 --> 00:37:15,556 and next year when we meet you'll see we have gone very far. 459 00:37:15,604 --> 00:37:16,804 Thank you. 460 00:37:17,284 --> 00:37:24,097 Thank you Franny. I just. Want to underline the real world experience that you have 461 00:37:24,146 --> 00:37:26,644 had actually investing in small enterprises. 462 00:37:26,704 --> 00:37:29,235 You said even some are one or two person businesses. 463 00:37:29,284 --> 00:37:33,912 Having zero non-performing loans even in the most challenging environments. 464 00:37:33,964 --> 00:37:37,705 That's incredible results and hopefully gives confidence to everyone here that these 465 00:37:37,752 --> 00:37:42,154 markets should not be off limits to private investors and those who are seeking real 466 00:37:42,193 --> 00:37:44,294 returns. There are opportunities everywhere. 467 00:37:44,344 --> 00:37:47,698 I want to ask Barry Andrews to join the discussion now. 468 00:37:47,764 --> 00:37:51,347 Barry as a member of the European Parliament and chairs of course the European 469 00:37:51,390 --> 00:37:54,849 Parliament's committee on development. You're thick in the middle of the 470 00:37:54,900 --> 00:38:00,069 negotiations on the financing envelope for the future of the European Commission's 471 00:38:00,124 --> 00:38:02,069 funding around humanitarian and development assistance. 472 00:38:02,104 --> 00:38:03,364 So we're eager to hear your thoughts. 473 00:38:04,084 --> 00:38:08,520 Thank you Raj and good morning everybody. Commissioner thank you very much. 474 00:38:08,584 --> 00:38:13,212 In Shiva for this incredible initiative I'm very excited to be president at the 475 00:38:13,255 --> 00:38:17,495 beginning of something and I want to share that sentiment with so many of the 476 00:38:17,545 --> 00:38:21,657 earlier speakers that it feels like we are at the beginning of something quite 477 00:38:21,712 --> 00:38:26,579 exciting. But as Raj said my role is here on behalf of the European Parliament. 478 00:38:26,644 --> 00:38:32,434 We are the responsible for the European budget together with the Council and as such 479 00:38:32,535 --> 00:38:38,462 our we're probably the most direct interface with European taxpayers and our job is 480 00:38:38,524 --> 00:38:42,775 to make sure that we are accountable that European taxpayer taxpayers have 481 00:38:42,844 --> 00:38:48,421 confidence in initiatives such as this. So I want to raise some issues not because I 482 00:38:48,478 --> 00:38:53,801 want to create obstacles I want to just make sure that we understand the kinds of 483 00:38:53,850 --> 00:38:58,166 issues that might create anxieties among some of the members of the European 484 00:38:58,211 --> 00:39:02,161 Parliament at this early stage to allow the debates to shape the debates and 485 00:39:02,215 --> 00:39:06,609 anticipate the kind of issues and the obstacles that we need to overcome at the 486 00:39:06,690 --> 00:39:13,624 earliest stage. So together with His Excellency in Saudi Arabia I would share the 487 00:39:13,695 --> 00:39:18,105 concern that we make sure that we have a laser focus on least developed countries I 488 00:39:18,149 --> 00:39:22,384 know that it is the focus of this conference on fragile and conflict affected 489 00:39:22,444 --> 00:39:27,046 countries but 20 years ago we launched aid for trade which is a central component of 490 00:39:27,092 --> 00:39:30,555 the global gateway and we had a hearing in the Parliament this week which 491 00:39:30,604 --> 00:39:35,404 demonstrated that aid for trade has left least developed countries behind very very 492 00:39:35,475 --> 00:39:40,457 significantly. So it is it is good to have this intention right now but we may need 493 00:39:40,499 --> 00:39:44,497 to maintain a laser focus on it. The second point is to get the balance right 494 00:39:44,540 --> 00:39:49,546 between transparency the right of the Parliament for example to oversee issues and 495 00:39:49,624 --> 00:39:54,172 then the need for private sector commercial sensitivity of course when you're 496 00:39:54,220 --> 00:39:58,214 dealing with the private sector there are going to be issues around that and as a 497 00:39:58,283 --> 00:40:02,484 Parliament that is something we really struggle with it's something we've struggled 498 00:40:02,524 --> 00:40:03,544 with with global 499 00:40:03,544 --> 00:40:08,967 gateway it's very difficult to get information about how much public sector money is 500 00:40:09,037 --> 00:40:13,347 actually leveraging private sector investment it's very difficult to get it figures 501 00:40:13,409 --> 00:40:17,276 around the impact on human development it's very difficult to look at the actual 502 00:40:17,329 --> 00:40:21,757 inputs of guarantees and blended finance. So just getting the balance right between 503 00:40:21,806 --> 00:40:25,375 transparency and of course commercial sensitivity. 504 00:40:25,444 --> 00:40:30,199 The third point I want to make and this is true of all private partner public 505 00:40:30,252 --> 00:40:34,641 private partnerships and that is to try to get the risk balance right. 506 00:40:34,684 --> 00:40:38,194 We can't have a situation where we have a privatization of profit and a 507 00:40:38,264 --> 00:40:45,440 socialization of risk and you've already talked about this Franny about where risk 508 00:40:45,558 --> 00:40:49,880 sits again this is a matter for EU taxpayers yes we want to bring the private sector 509 00:40:49,913 --> 00:40:53,896 in that doesn't that goes without saying but we have to get that balance right as 510 00:40:53,980 --> 00:40:59,365 well. The fourth point is how we interface with the new trend made in Europe 511 00:40:59,489 --> 00:41:03,846 obviously there are representatives here from all over the world and of course we 512 00:41:03,887 --> 00:41:08,382 want to involve multilateral development banks but made in Europe is a trend away 513 00:41:08,451 --> 00:41:13,473 from the involvement of UN agencies and we have to be very careful that we make sure 514 00:41:13,535 --> 00:41:17,370 that we navigate this and there might even be a question of whether or not we need 515 00:41:17,433 --> 00:41:22,279 to update the humanitarian regulation given that it goes back to 1996 and this is a 516 00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:25,857 very new approach which requires a lot of flexibility. 517 00:41:25,984 --> 00:41:31,399 The fifth point is even in developed countries the application of scarce resources 518 00:41:31,444 --> 00:41:36,083 can be very contested you know that that goes without saying where you make an 519 00:41:36,121 --> 00:41:40,904 investment where you pay out on an insurance for example that is controlled by a 520 00:41:40,944 --> 00:41:44,850 sovereign or an agent on behalf of the sovereign and this is of course even more the 521 00:41:44,906 --> 00:41:49,913 case in fragile and conflict affected countries where the application of scarce 522 00:41:49,984 --> 00:41:54,009 resources can be very contested happens in developed countries but also in 523 00:41:54,059 --> 00:41:57,497 developing countries and something we have to be very sensitive towards. 524 00:41:57,544 --> 00:42:01,536 Finally just a few quick points and that is I think we should avoid too many 525 00:42:01,588 --> 00:42:02,164 flagships. 526 00:42:02,164 --> 00:42:04,046 I think that's been a weakness of global gateway. 527 00:42:04,084 --> 00:42:09,628 I acknowledged by DG INTPA my limited knowledge of naval warfare tells me that you 528 00:42:09,672 --> 00:42:13,378 should only have one flagship to avoid confusion but there you go. 529 00:42:13,444 --> 00:42:20,086 I think we also have to avoid overpromising impact investing isn't new agenda 2030 530 00:42:20,133 --> 00:42:24,471 is about billions to trillions as you said Raj and you can go back to 2008 when 531 00:42:24,550 --> 00:42:29,323 Michael Porter is talking about the shared value initiative. 532 00:42:29,404 --> 00:42:33,961 And finally I think it's important that we have representatives of developing 533 00:42:34,024 --> 00:42:36,432 countries really central to this conversation. 534 00:42:36,484 --> 00:42:38,127 It's great that the private sector are here. 535 00:42:38,164 --> 00:42:42,864 So finally just to say the Parliament is stands ready to really collaborate on this. 536 00:42:42,904 --> 00:42:47,025 It's great that it's strategic. It's based on the humanitarian communication in May 537 00:42:47,092 --> 00:42:52,337 with a with a with a medium term aim towards leveraging 10 billion dollars by 2028. 538 00:42:52,399 --> 00:42:56,569 So we will be there but we will carry out our function of oversight. 539 00:42:56,631 --> 00:42:57,831 Thank you.