WEBVTT NOTE Brussels Live. Transcribed and translated automatically from the original sound. Mistakes are possible. Independent service, not affiliated with the European Parliament or the European Commission. Source: © European Union. AI-generated: Transcripts, translations and summaries on this site are generated automatically by AI: speech recognition (Soniox), machine translation and summaries (Mistral AI). Not edited by humans before publication. EU AI Act, Article 50. 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000 Good morning. 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000 Good morning. 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 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.000 going to begin. 00:00:00.844 --> 00:00:06.524 Good morning. Good morning, everybody. Dear Sheba, Excellencies, dear colleagues, 00:00:06.609 --> 00:00:09.791 it's a real pleasure to be with you this morning. 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 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 00:00:25.603 --> 00:00:32.434 new possibilities began. I hope we bring that same spirit here today, explorers with 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, 00:00:39.671 --> 00:00:45.475 and I want to thank especially those of you who've crossed oceans and continents to 00:00:45.530 --> 00:00:50.962 be here on a special thanks to Tom Fletcher, dear Tom, for joining us today. 00:00:51.124 --> 00:00:56.536 Invest Frontier is a new platform. We have created with the World Economic Forum to 00:00:56.598 --> 00:01:01.491 bring businesses and investors together with humanitarian organizations. 00:01:01.564 --> 00:01:07.864 Today we have 70 representatives around the table from UN agencies, and NGOs, to 00:01:07.940 --> 00:01:13.024 financial institutions, private companies, philanthropies, and governments of 00:01:13.084 --> 00:01:19.913 course. We don't always speak the same language, we use different acronyms, we come 00:01:19.971 --> 00:01:25.063 from different words, but we all believe we can make a difference. 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 00:01:32.926 --> 00:01:40.552 are here to talk business. To explore opportunities attract investment, open new 00:01:40.624 --> 00:01:46.717 markets, and find new ways of working. More than half of you around this table come 00:01:46.781 --> 00:01:52.088 from the private sector, and I certainly don't intend to waste your valuable time. 00:01:52.204 --> 00:01:58.480 Today 2 billion people live in areas hit by conflicts and crisis. 00:01:58.564 --> 00:02:05.164 That's 1 in 4 people on this planet. This is an enormous humanitarian challenge. 00:02:05.284 --> 00:02:11.134 But it is also one of the greatest untapped economic opportunities of all time. 00:02:11.284 --> 00:02:18.111 Picture a displaced refugee. Struggling to grow enough food to feed her family, and 00:02:18.210 --> 00:02:23.344 now imagine that same refugee having access to innovative irrigation system 00:02:23.394 --> 00:02:28.086 developed on the other side of the world. The reality on the ground could look 00:02:28.144 --> 00:02:34.547 radically different for her. The European Commission and our member states are the 00:02:34.618 --> 00:02:38.164 world's largest humanitarian donors, but humanitarian aid 00:02:38.224 --> 00:02:43.794 alone cannot solve a humanitarian crisis. We need humanitarian organizations, 00:02:43.864 --> 00:02:49.077 development finance institutions, and the private sector working hand in hand. 00:02:49.144 --> 00:02:54.028 Public-private partnerships in developing countries are nothing new. 00:02:54.124 --> 00:02:59.791 The challenge is to make them work in places hit by crisis where businesses and 00:02:59.838 --> 00:03:03.889 investment are hardest to attract and most needed. 00:03:04.024 --> 00:03:08.910 That means finding new ways to bring investment into fragile markets, reducing risk 00:03:08.992 --> 00:03:14.869 for businesses, and challenging the assumptions that these places are simply too 00:03:14.944 --> 00:03:22.429 risky to invest in. When local businesses grow, they create jobs, and a steady wage 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:27.127 means a family relies less on the next aid convoy. 00:03:27.244 --> 00:03:30.291 These partnerships must work for everyone. 00:03:30.364 --> 00:03:36.247 This is not charity, it is about real business opportunities that also meet real 00:03:36.354 --> 00:03:43.988 human needs. When people have jobs and essential services, and businesses find room 00:03:44.065 --> 00:03:49.244 to grow, everyone wins. We already have examples that prove this work. 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 00:03:55.608 --> 00:03:59.455 people around the same table who don't often sit together; 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 00:04:06.337 --> 00:04:12.188 point. I don't want Invest Frontier to be just another conference where we exchange 00:04:12.263 --> 00:04:16.920 business cards and go home. We want results. 00:04:17.044 --> 00:04:23.528 So today together we Sheba, we will present promising initiatives that already exist 00:04:23.584 --> 00:04:29.721 and could go much further with the right support and investment. 00:04:29.824 --> 00:04:36.424 Dear friends, we choose the name Invest Frontier to go beyond what has been done 00:04:36.531 --> 00:04:43.019 before. The explorers never knew what exactly lay beyond the line on the map. 00:04:43.144 --> 00:04:50.713 They went. Anyway. Together let's take this opportunity and let's go. 00:04:50.824 --> 00:04:53.224 Thank you and dear Sheba, the floor is yours. 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 00:05:02.587 --> 00:05:06.891 to the European Commission for really being a true partner in this effort and to our 00:05:06.960 --> 00:05:11.876 Invest Frontier leadership group. It's nice to see many of you around the table. 00:05:11.944 --> 00:05:15.775 And you have really helped to shape the ambition and the practical agenda that we 00:05:15.827 --> 00:05:19.959 are launching today. So Excellencies, colleagues and friends, and I have to say it's 00:05:20.002 --> 00:05:24.055 been a particular joy to see so many friends already this morning. 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 00:05:28.241 --> 00:05:33.840 been a time of profound disruption. We have seen its effects across sectors, 00:05:33.922 --> 00:05:39.533 portfolios, budgets, and partnerships, and that reality as Hadja was just saying has 00:05:39.586 --> 00:05:44.564 really created a clear imperative and that's why we're here today, to move beyond 00:05:44.644 --> 00:05:48.328 debating what needs to change and to begin delivering it. 00:05:48.424 --> 00:05:53.813 When we talk about fragile and frontier markets we often lead with what is missing, 00:05:53.884 --> 00:05:59.561 capital infrastructure, capacity, stability, the gaps and investment risks are 00:05:59.626 --> 00:06:04.028 certainly real, but despite these realities we also know that there are thriving 00:06:04.078 --> 00:06:08.596 partnerships and business models there are countries and communities marked by 00:06:08.668 --> 00:06:14.902 entrepreneurship, by innovation and adaptability, and places where solutions are 00:06:15.004 --> 00:06:18.178 resulting in real economic growth are already being built; 00:06:18.243 --> 00:06:22.532 they are already underway. And that's why I think we've brought together the two 00:06:22.587 --> 00:06:27.829 pillars that we have in Invest Frontier, to because this distinction between crisis 00:06:27.882 --> 00:06:32.074 response and economic development is increasingly inadequate. 00:06:32.164 --> 00:06:36.943 People need safety, people need essential services, they also need jobs, they also 00:06:36.987 --> 00:06:41.004 need functioning markets, they also need reliable infrastructure, they also need 00:06:41.084 --> 00:06:45.736 opportunity to build a future. Bringing the right opportunities and partners 00:06:45.784 --> 00:06:50.460 together is one of the world economic forums distinctive contributions. 00:06:50.524 --> 00:06:55.488 We do help to convene actors that are not always together in the same room. 00:06:55.564 --> 00:07:00.245 We connect those responding to crisis today with those who are investing in markets 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:02.464 and building the institutions that create 00:07:02.584 --> 00:07:09.424 jobs and drive economic growth. And with Invest Frontier we are helping to turn what 00:07:09.504 --> 00:07:16.532 is a broad ambition into practical collaboration centered on solutions that can be 00:07:16.613 --> 00:07:23.978 adapted, scaled, and replicated. And we are doing that in a way that we anticipate 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 00:07:29.129 --> 00:07:35.224 long time in different ways, how to engage the private sector, really as partners 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 00:07:41.003 --> 00:07:46.555 hopes of more financing. So today as Hadja said we are bringing forward an initial 00:07:46.621 --> 00:07:52.539 portfolio of 10 partner-led solutions; these are solutions that address practical 00:07:52.596 --> 00:07:58.188 challenges, strengthening crisis response, using technology more effectively, 00:07:58.261 --> 00:08:03.474 mobilizing investment, supporting local enterprise, and building more resilient 00:08:03.559 --> 00:08:08.093 markets. And I want to stress that these solutions are a starting point. 00:08:08.164 --> 00:08:10.634 What we are doing today is launching this effort. 00:08:10.684 --> 00:08:15.800 This is not a closed list. We already have six additional solutions that have been 00:08:15.862 --> 00:08:20.874 identified for further development. And we remain open to further proposals. 00:08:20.944 --> 00:08:25.255 But importantly our ambition goes beyond a set of solutions. 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 00:08:31.174 --> 00:08:37.580 markets to ensure greater resilience and durability and to do that with a broader 00:08:37.663 --> 00:08:43.642 and sustained broader set of partners. And that means among other things moving from 00:08:43.704 --> 00:08:49.142 external intermediaries to locally led delivery and capital, moving from fragmented 00:08:49.216 --> 00:08:55.424 one-off interventions to a more collaborative ecosystem, moving from grants alone to 00:08:55.491 --> 00:09:01.022 catalytic and smart finance, moving from seeing fragile and frontier markets as aid 00:09:01.084 --> 00:09:07.093 recipients to recognizing them as growth markets, and from treating technology only 00:09:07.165 --> 00:09:11.464 as an enabler to understanding the role that it can play at the center of 00:09:11.524 --> 00:09:14.742 sustainable transformation. What can we do? 00:09:14.824 --> 00:09:19.546 We will broker the partnerships that help these solutions scale and move forward, 00:09:19.624 --> 00:09:24.799 connect solution owners to the capital, the expertise, the technology, the markets, 00:09:24.855 --> 00:09:27.244 and the policy partners they need, and champion 00:09:27.784 --> 00:09:33.831 successes that demonstrate practical pathways to scale across our networks. 00:09:33.904 --> 00:09:38.631 So our ask today of all of you is to help us create those pathways. 00:09:38.704 --> 00:09:43.084 Strengthen one of the solutions already selected, propose a new solution, bring 00:09:43.144 --> 00:09:47.558 capital or expertise or open access to technology or markets. 00:09:47.644 --> 00:09:52.729 For those who will be at our annual meeting in 2027, we are looking forward to 00:09:52.784 --> 00:09:56.854 progressing this effort there through a series of planned conversations and 00:09:56.944 --> 00:10:03.844 convenings. And by Davos 2028, we together will deliver results. 00:10:03.964 --> 00:10:08.522 Modernized crisis response, strengthened local business and infrastructure, 00:10:08.584 --> 00:10:13.727 increased capital and capability, reaching underserved markets, and partnerships 00:10:13.800 --> 00:10:18.576 that create jobs, resilience, and that underpin economic growth. 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 00:10:25.204 --> 00:10:28.634 differently, but that it is already being done differently. 00:10:28.684 --> 00:10:34.431 And at scale in difficult environments. Invest Frontier gives us this opportunity 00:10:34.504 --> 00:10:37.568 and we look forward to advancing it together with all of you. 00:10:37.624 --> 00:10:38.824 Thank you. 00:10:43.744 --> 00:10:46.151 Well, let me add my welcome and good morning. 00:10:46.204 --> 00:10:49.044 I'm Raj Kumar. I'm the president, editor, and chief of DevEx. 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, 00:10:52.999 --> 00:10:56.727 but I've never had a warmer welcome in Brussels. 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 00:11:00.755 --> 00:11:04.418 with Shiba for what I think is some news. This is actual news. 00:11:04.504 --> 00:11:09.014 You are, as a group, doing something together with some accountability, with the 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 00:11:13.944 --> 00:11:16.986 at DevEx and all of us have experienced the last couple of years. 00:11:17.044 --> 00:11:21.907 The theme around the political economy, around the aid industry, the idea that cuts 00:11:21.964 --> 00:11:26.625 are here, they're probably here to stay in some way regardless of election shifts. 00:11:26.704 --> 00:11:29.597 And that this community needs to work in a new way. 00:11:29.704 --> 00:11:33.951 And needs to draw a bigger circle around what we mean by humanitarian response and 00:11:34.006 --> 00:11:38.237 development, a circle that includes the private sector, that includes philanthropy, 00:11:38.284 --> 00:11:42.702 that includes new and innovative models as well as the core crisis response 00:11:42.784 --> 00:11:46.564 humanitarian and development work that is so essential in so many places. 00:11:46.624 --> 00:11:50.131 And just to underline what places we're talking about, this is 1. 00:11:50.224 --> 00:11:53.693 8 billion people. This is not a niche issue. 00:11:53.764 --> 00:11:58.744 And these economies as we have begun making this shift toward a more private, 00:11:58.804 --> 00:12:03.103 finance-focused sector have largely been left behind. 00:12:03.184 --> 00:12:04.591 Many of you are working on this every day. 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 00:12:09.364 --> 00:12:13.904 population lives but only 5% of the world's productivity exists. 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 00:12:21.523 --> 00:12:25.511 than a third of the world's working age population living in those countries. 00:12:25.564 --> 00:12:29.420 So their destiny is very much intertwined with the destiny of all of us regardless 00:12:29.458 --> 00:12:31.742 of what country you come from in the world. 00:12:31.804 --> 00:12:34.677 And the question is, can something more systemic be done? 00:12:34.744 --> 00:12:37.915 And I think that's what the European Commission and the World Economic Forum are 00:12:37.956 --> 00:12:39.156 bringing us together 00:12:39.484 --> 00:12:43.166 here today to discuss and what I hope is going to be a really dynamic session. 00:12:43.204 --> 00:12:47.024 We're starting with an on the record formal series of remarks, but we will move 00:12:47.072 --> 00:12:50.424 toward a really open conversation where I hope all of you will have a chance to 00:12:50.471 --> 00:12:54.717 participate and debate and discuss how we move this forward. 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 00:12:58.924 --> 00:13:02.512 audience globally what do you think is holding us back? 00:13:02.584 --> 00:13:08.482 Why is it that billions to trillions has become sort of a punchline in a way? 00:13:08.644 --> 00:13:11.949 Some people talk about the magic pony of private finance, right? 00:13:12.004 --> 00:13:15.720 This idea that theoretically we'll get there, but why do we keep talking about it 00:13:15.764 --> 00:13:20.673 but not achieving it? And then the top response from our survey participants was 00:13:20.735 --> 00:13:25.842 this idea of misalignment. Everybody wants this, but ultimately we don't gather 00:13:25.897 --> 00:13:29.944 around one table and find those incentives that work for everyone. 00:13:30.004 --> 00:13:33.047 And I think that's what Invest Frontier is trying to solve. 00:13:33.184 --> 00:13:35.589 And that's what we're here today to discuss. 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 00:13:40.482 --> 00:13:44.536 initial speakers. For this on the record session, we have a couple of speakers who 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 00:13:47.494 --> 00:13:49.628 the room, and then we'll begin our broader session. 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 00:13:55.683 --> 00:14:00.169 another side of the table now. She has a long career in the humanitarian and 00:14:00.225 --> 00:14:03.822 development space, but of course now is the Minister of State for International 00:14:03.860 --> 00:14:08.767 Development in the UK at a particularly important time with the G20. 00:14:08.884 --> 00:14:12.482 And so we're very eager to hear your thoughts, Kirsty, on these topics. 00:14:12.544 --> 00:14:13.744 Please, Minister McNeil. 00:14:14.644 --> 00:14:21.223 Thank you, Raj. Can everybody hear me? Can people hear me? 00:14:21.364 --> 00:14:26.182 Yes? Okay. Thank you, Raj. And thank you, Hadja and Shiba, for bringing us together. 00:14:26.284 --> 00:14:31.853 I feel so optimistic and excited to be joining you at the launch of Invest Frontier, 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 00:14:36.409 --> 00:14:40.438 difficult moment. So we are seeing climate change damage hitting developing 00:14:40.478 --> 00:14:46.172 countries. We are braced, of course, for the worst El Niño on record, conflict and 00:14:46.219 --> 00:14:51.313 instability is harming too many people in too many places, and as we know so well, 00:14:51.377 --> 00:14:56.199 humanitarian needs are growing. And funding is shrinking. 00:14:56.284 --> 00:15:00.959 And so that context makes it incumbent on us to make hard choices. 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 00:15:06.124 --> 00:15:11.914 bring more resources to the table. Now, let me just underscore and be clear. 00:15:12.004 --> 00:15:16.321 Our view is that traditional grant financing is going to remain the mainstay of 00:15:16.384 --> 00:15:21.390 humanitarian funding. But there are places where public finance can help unlock 00:15:21.448 --> 00:15:24.784 private capital that can help spread risk and it can help support locally led 00:15:24.824 --> 00:15:28.724 solutions. And that's why we're all here. And that is incredibly important because 00:15:28.772 --> 00:15:31.756 people living through a crisis, they do need more than aid. 00:15:31.864 --> 00:15:34.972 Now, they do need aid, but they need more than aid. 00:15:35.044 --> 00:15:39.424 They need services, they need jobs, they need the chance to really rebuild their 00:15:39.484 --> 00:15:43.657 lives. And that's where private investment can have such a huge impact. 00:15:43.744 --> 00:15:47.894 Now, some of you may have seen the launch of British International Investment's new 00:15:47.947 --> 00:15:52.872 strategy, which targets 25% of new core investments at the least developed 00:15:52.924 --> 00:15:57.628 countries. So if you look at somewhere like DRC, what BII is backing is the 00:15:57.692 --> 00:16:00.481 country's first deep water containment port. 00:16:00.544 --> 00:16:05.448 We're hoping that that will generate about 85,000 jobs and generate over a billion 00:16:05.524 --> 00:16:10.179 dollars in additional trade. But we're looking beyond the individual investments 00:16:10.232 --> 00:16:15.784 important, though they are for something like BII, we actually are trying to ensure 00:16:15.844 --> 00:16:18.604 that BII and other instruments can help build the markets 00:16:18.724 --> 00:16:22.100 and institutions that can sustain that investment over time. 00:16:22.204 --> 00:16:26.530 So again, if you look at something like FSD Africa, which was established by the UK, 00:16:26.584 --> 00:16:30.228 we're working with the Ethiopian government to set up the country's first modern 00:16:30.283 --> 00:16:33.724 securities exchange. It has already listed seven companies. 00:16:33.784 --> 00:16:39.016 More than 47,000 Ethiopians have become shareholders in their national telecoms 00:16:39.064 --> 00:16:43.168 company. And we need to change the international systems too, and you'll have heard 00:16:43.212 --> 00:16:47.484 the Foreign Secretary talk about that a lot in Bangkok about what our agenda is for 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 00:16:52.415 --> 00:16:57.218 zeroing in in particular on how the MDBs can use their balance sheets more 00:16:57.263 --> 00:17:01.140 effectively, taking on risks at the private sector can't and won't, and transferring 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 00:17:05.653 --> 00:17:09.769 for new investments, including in fragile and frontier markets. 00:17:09.844 --> 00:17:14.464 And as we all know so well, if we want sustained investment in these markets, we 00:17:14.524 --> 00:17:19.277 have to protect both people and economies from the shocks that can just wipe out 00:17:19.335 --> 00:17:24.124 progress overnight. And that's why we are such strong believers in pre-arranged 00:17:24.196 --> 00:17:28.377 finance. So earlier this year, the UK committed additional funds to the Natural 00:17:28.434 --> 00:17:33.504 Disaster Fund, which is already mobilized 150 million dollars in private capital, to 00:17:33.555 --> 00:17:38.038 develop insurance that gives vulnerable communities reliable support when disasters 00:17:38.104 --> 00:17:43.084 hit. And of course, we've supported new anticipatory action insurance to help us act 00:17:43.144 --> 00:17:50.203 before a crisis escalates. Now, for our family, that is braced for flood or drought, 00:17:50.284 --> 00:17:55.338 that means everything because it's the difference between losing everything that 00:17:55.387 --> 00:17:58.483 they've worked so hard for and being able to recover. 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 00:18:03.581 --> 00:18:07.594 been gathered today. And I just want to invite all of us to not waste this 00:18:07.639 --> 00:18:11.444 opportunity. Let's take the time of being together as investors, as partners, as 00:18:11.491 --> 00:18:14.944 development and humanitarian actors to really think about where can these 00:18:15.064 --> 00:18:17.528 approaches make the very biggest difference? 00:18:17.584 --> 00:18:21.087 Where can they help us reach more people and crucially sooner? 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 00:18:24.864 --> 00:18:26.884 better chance for them to rebuild for tomorrow. 00:18:28.624 --> 00:18:33.811 Thank you so much, Minister, and thank you for pleasing applaud. 00:18:34.204 --> 00:18:37.804 I hope you can hear that. There's warm applause for you in the room. 00:18:37.864 --> 00:18:42.072 Kirsty and we are thrilled to hear you frame this as an opportunity and to underline 00:18:42.124 --> 00:18:45.421 the urgency that I think we're going to hear a lot about today. 00:18:45.484 --> 00:18:48.967 I want to welcome to our conversation His Excellency Dr. 00:18:49.024 --> 00:18:53.658 Abdallah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabiha, who is joining us from Saudi Arabia, where he's 00:18:53.704 --> 00:18:58.271 the Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. 00:18:58.324 --> 00:19:03.227 And you should know he is also a noted pediatric surgeon and former Minister of 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 00:19:06.724 --> 00:19:07.924 brief remarks. Thank you. 00:19:09.604 --> 00:19:14.145 Thank. You, good morning, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. 00:19:14.224 --> 00:19:22.054 Let me start by expressing my sincere appreciation to the mission and also to the 00:19:22.129 --> 00:19:26.696 World Economic Forum for convening this very important gathering: 00:19:26.764 --> 00:19:34.832 Invest Frontier. Today has provided over 145 billion US dollars in humanitarian 00:19:34.905 --> 00:19:42.544 assistance to more than 175 countries. KS Relief has implemented more than 4,000 00:19:42.664 --> 00:19:50.682 projects exceeding a budget of 8.5 billion US dollars in 113 nations. 00:19:50.824 --> 00:19:58.958 We can no longer continue to view fragile and frontier markets solely through the 00:19:59.027 --> 00:20:03.604 lens of endless vulnerability and perpetual relief. 00:20:03.724 --> 00:20:11.477 They must instead be approached as a potential of opportunity locally led growth and 00:20:11.565 --> 00:20:17.552 also sustainable resilience. I would like to present three main priorities that 00:20:17.607 --> 00:20:25.048 should direct our work. Firstly, international humanitarian law must be respected 00:20:25.144 --> 00:20:33.248 aid workers must be protected and secure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access must 00:20:33.353 --> 00:20:40.464 be allowed. Without reliable unhindered access, no viable market activity or 00:20:40.564 --> 00:20:48.187 economic recovery can take root. Secondly, principled localization of aid activities 00:20:48.304 --> 00:20:54.122 must be introduced without increasing the level of risk and the burden upon 00:20:54.203 --> 00:21:01.238 communities. Thirdly, there is a need to deploy a catalytic cross-sector financing 00:21:01.324 --> 00:21:08.031 donor grants alone cannot close the widening funding gaps the world is experiencing 00:21:08.100 --> 00:21:15.222 today. Our role is to deploy public funding strategically leveraging blended finance 00:21:15.304 --> 00:21:22.433 risk sharing mechanisms accountability and also private capital or unlock investment 00:21:22.504 --> 00:21:30.200 in high-risk frontier markets. While ensuring sustainable locally driven impact. 00:21:30.304 --> 00:21:38.574 Finally, let us work together from Brussels to Davos and beyond to transform relief 00:21:38.656 --> 00:21:46.043 into resilience unlock shared prosperity and turn fragile frontiers into thriving 00:21:46.114 --> 00:21:49.871 centers of dignity and opportunity for all. 00:21:49.984 --> 00:21:51.184 Thank you. 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 00:22:01.484 --> 00:22:05.467 table. Tom, you come from the field very often. 00:22:05.524 --> 00:22:07.524 You're on the road more than almost anyone I know. 00:22:07.564 --> 00:22:11.241 Actually visiting and seeing the challenges people are facing and you have to 00:22:11.287 --> 00:22:17.025 somehow find a way in this difficult fiscal environment to make stretch the money to 00:22:17.083 --> 00:22:21.268 achieve and meet today's needs. While also thinking about how to reform the system. 00:22:21.304 --> 00:22:24.184 So I'm very eager to hear your thoughts about where we go from here. 00:22:26.164 --> 00:22:29.604 Well. Thank you so much, Raj. And thank you, Hadjar and Shiba, for bringing this 00:22:29.644 --> 00:22:34.698 excellent group together. And for the spirit of the conversation as well, pioneers, 00:22:34.779 --> 00:22:41.042 Kirsty said opportunity that sense of energy that is in this conversation. 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, 00:22:45.544 --> 00:22:50.159 Kathy and Chowder and others from the ISC principals and of course as well. 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 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 00:23:00.013 --> 00:23:06.111 reach right now and on from there, to Gaza and south of the Latani River. 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 00:23:12.054 --> 00:23:16.939 in the places recovering from climate disasters, you know, I was recently in La 00:23:16.982 --> 00:23:22.942 Guaira after the earthquakes there and our teams have been responding to the floods 00:23:23.033 --> 00:23:29.634 in Nepal, for example. Is that when crisis hits, whether it's conflict or climate, 00:23:29.703 --> 00:23:35.154 people come together. And they don't come together and say, I'm a humanitarian 00:23:35.239 --> 00:23:39.732 you're a development person, you're private sector, you're civil society. 00:23:39.784 --> 00:23:46.868 They just come together as people. And that works at local level. 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. 00:23:52.084 --> 00:23:55.118 When we get to the global level, it tends to pull apart. 00:23:55.264 --> 00:23:59.034 And we go to lots of meetings and we say, let's not work in silos. 00:23:59.104 --> 00:24:01.863 And then we go off and create separate plans. 00:24:01.924 --> 00:24:05.454 And we fundraise separately. And we communicate separately. 00:24:05.524 --> 00:24:10.255 About the thing, the very niche thing that we happen to be doing in our silos. 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 00:24:15.424 --> 00:24:17.890 local level. We've got to get into delivery. 00:24:17.944 --> 00:24:23.995 And that's why Shiba and Shiba's focus with WEF on practical projects is so 00:24:24.076 --> 00:24:30.973 important. It's why across the ISC we're pushing these efficiency initiatives. 00:24:31.024 --> 00:24:34.806 We're working towards one supply chain, one procurement train. 00:24:34.864 --> 00:24:40.144 We're working on transitions through work that Alexander DeCrowe is leading for us. 00:24:40.144 --> 00:24:44.708 And why, you know, many of the organizations including here, you know, when Kathy 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 00:24:49.684 --> 00:24:51.796 humanitarian and development aspect of this. 00:24:51.844 --> 00:24:53.604 They're thinking what do we do for children? 00:24:53.644 --> 00:24:57.372 What do we do for people on the move? And that's the mindset we need. 00:24:57.424 --> 00:25:01.814 A complementarity mindset. Who's best place to deliver? 00:25:01.924 --> 00:25:08.224 Final couple of thoughts. I think that the argument for anticipatory action is won 00:25:08.304 --> 00:25:10.225 now. And we've just got to get on and do it. 00:25:10.264 --> 00:25:16.686 We now have the instruments, the tools to get ahead of crises, particularly climate 00:25:16.752 --> 00:25:21.602 crises. And we've got to be out there using the much more innovatively and driving 00:25:21.664 --> 00:25:25.415 for results. It's why I've released a hundred million from the emergency fund so 00:25:25.473 --> 00:25:28.854 that communities can prepare for the super el niño. 00:25:28.924 --> 00:25:31.544 We know which roads will be closed in a month's time. 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. 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 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 00:25:46.924 --> 00:25:50.872 set of challenges here, please help us respond to them. 00:25:50.944 --> 00:25:56.116 How do we solve problems together? How do we create opportunities together? 00:25:56.224 --> 00:26:02.009 So we need you. We need this conversation, but more importantly, the people we serve 00:26:02.060 --> 00:26:04.564 need this conversation. So thank you for bringing us together. 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, 00:26:11.640 --> 00:26:14.391 which we very much needed to hear. I appreciate that. 00:26:14.464 --> 00:26:17.235 I want to welcome Jacqueline Novogratz to the discussion. 00:26:17.284 --> 00:26:19.396 Jacqueline is the founder and CEO of Acumen. 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 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 00:26:27.619 --> 00:26:31.427 think this moment demands of us, what we can do differently today when it comes to 00:26:31.479 --> 00:26:34.684 investing in some of these most fragile markets around the world. 00:26:35.344 --> 00:26:40.918 Thanks, Raj, and thanks for your voice. And to the World Economic Forum and European 00:26:40.988 --> 00:26:43.569 Commission, this is just a spectacular room. 00:26:43.624 --> 00:26:49.656 And it's so represents the kinds of conversations we need to have picking up from 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 00:26:58.527 --> 00:27:03.403 going to fix the problems that we have neither is any single investor. 00:27:03.484 --> 00:27:09.500 And that the only way we solve these problems for the long term with resilience is 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:15.287 through new blends of capital new kinds of partnership, more daring and I dare say 00:27:15.369 --> 00:27:21.579 really working on trust and honesty. I've been asked to just give a really quick 00:27:21.618 --> 00:27:24.984 example, which is hard with this example, but here goes. 00:27:25.144 --> 00:27:30.445 So I won't bore you with off-grid electrification, except that 700 million people on 00:27:30.493 --> 00:27:35.455 the planet still have no electricity, which is mind boggling in an age of AI. 00:27:35.644 --> 00:27:43.097 And massive climate change. What we did as an example is what's called the hardest 00:27:43.138 --> 00:27:47.919 to reach with some of the amazing partners sitting around this table. 00:27:48.064 --> 00:27:56.321 It's essentially a 250 million dollar initiative 23 different partners came together 00:27:56.404 --> 00:28:03.230 from philanthropists that allowed us to take early stage concessionary, long term 00:28:03.304 --> 00:28:08.498 equity investments in countries like Somalia and Benin and Burkina Faso where that 00:28:08.550 --> 00:28:13.689 kind of capital doesn't go in. The private sector without I would dare say 00:28:13.739 --> 00:28:18.974 philanthropy wasn't coming in. Connected to that then a 200 million dollar 00:28:19.045 --> 00:28:24.697 concessionary a lending facility with first loss capital and really, really 00:28:24.782 --> 00:28:30.361 importantly grant money for technical assistance, which I think we have to redefine. 00:28:30.484 --> 00:28:36.156 That's the overall structure. It included players not only philanthropists but the 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 00:28:47.152 --> 00:28:51.897 understood the kind of capital they were bringing at the top Shinhan, Korea's 00:28:51.961 --> 00:28:57.170 largest commercial bank. Each bringing in different expertise. 00:28:57.244 --> 00:29:03.500 So that partnership allowed us to take the right kind of capital to fit the market. 00:29:03.604 --> 00:29:09.124 Each country has bespoke needs. And we also have to be comfortable with that. 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 00:29:14.646 --> 00:29:20.638 at the World Bank to talk about specific needs in a country particularly with 00:29:20.704 --> 00:29:27.277 results-based financing without that this wouldn't be working in the way that it's 00:29:27.357 --> 00:29:34.681 working. Or. Calling the Norwegians to think about the we structure technical 00:29:34.736 --> 00:29:40.999 assistance with expectations in one way but the reality is of a situation given 00:29:41.074 --> 00:29:46.612 currency devaluations and the inability to convert back into dollars that we needed 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 00:29:52.585 --> 00:29:56.370 long working relationship and they know you will tell you the truth. 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. 00:30:03.784 --> 00:30:09.134 And then finally and I've learned so much about partnership and trust and hope we 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 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 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 00:30:25.583 --> 00:30:29.854 not just financial risk. It is environmental risk. 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 00:30:36.124 --> 00:30:42.242 population is being excluded at a time where AI is only going to accelerate the 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 00:30:48.289 --> 00:30:52.817 learning and the ability we've been able to do things because of the people sitting 00:30:52.875 --> 00:30:54.075 around this table. 00:30:55.204 --> 00:31:02.181 Thank you so much, Jacqueline. Thank you and thank you for bringing this important 00:31:02.224 --> 00:31:06.500 role of trust and honest dialogue which is certainly the spirit that I hope we can 00:31:06.544 --> 00:31:09.124 foster in this room today. So thank you for that. 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 00:31:16.186 --> 00:31:19.912 markets we're talking about and you have helped to design and drive the 00:31:19.984 --> 00:31:23.861 International Financial Architecture in a direction that does not neglect these 00:31:23.918 --> 00:31:27.424 economies. I'd love to hear how you see this opportunity right now. 00:31:29.644 --> 00:31:34.615 Thank you very much, Raj. And I really enjoyed hearing the opening remarks Hadja and 00:31:34.693 --> 00:31:37.389 Shiba and of course Minister Christie and Dr. 00:31:37.444 --> 00:31:40.520 Abdallah. And my colleagues here on the panel. 00:31:40.564 --> 00:31:45.481 I come at this from a very personal point of view because my career journey started 00:31:45.532 --> 00:31:50.672 in the multilateral development banks then migrated to run a foundation and then 00:31:50.730 --> 00:31:54.890 went back to the multilateral development banks but the original one in this case 00:31:54.960 --> 00:31:59.261 the African Development Bank then went to work for a regional sub-regional 00:31:59.323 --> 00:32:05.311 development bank TDB and then went to work in raising my own fund own capital and 00:32:05.360 --> 00:32:07.979 working with colleagues in the private sector. 00:32:08.044 --> 00:32:11.572 And one of the things that struck me starting from the work I did with the 00:32:11.623 --> 00:32:17.944 foundation is that all of these forms of capital humanitarian development finance 00:32:18.064 --> 00:32:24.031 philanthropy and private capital are filling a very particular gap in the market but 00:32:24.106 --> 00:32:29.150 like the blind people touching the elephant we only see one part of the elephant and 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 00:32:33.858 --> 00:32:37.033 that gives us the opportunity to work very differently together. 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. 00:32:41.944 --> 00:32:46.657 When we started out we really didn't get much hearing because people unlike the 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 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 00:32:56.143 --> 00:33:01.167 at it this way and there are very difficult to raise capital to address these types 00:33:01.241 --> 00:33:07.487 of issues. So we ended up putting our own capital and starting and then showing that 00:33:07.564 --> 00:33:13.171 it is actually possible. So in the health sector when we started we partnered with a 00:33:13.239 --> 00:33:19.028 foundation the Gates Foundation and they gave us half we put in equal 50-50 of 00:33:19.089 --> 00:33:24.434 lending capital to see whether you can give small and medium enterprises and those 00:33:24.486 --> 00:33:28.810 in the last mile distribution chain for essential medicines and medical equipment 00:33:28.864 --> 00:33:34.106 the kind of funding they need to actually do that regardless of the country in which 00:33:34.164 --> 00:33:35.344 they are in. 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 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 00:33:46.684 --> 00:33:50.470 run with that solution quite quite quickly. 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. 00:33:55.324 --> 00:33:59.702 And the challenge with this is we started actually in urban markets but very quickly 00:33:59.764 --> 00:34:04.642 we were told you know there is this refugee community here that would really benefit 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 00:34:08.995 --> 00:34:11.419 model change. And we realized actually it doesn't. 00:34:11.464 --> 00:34:15.559 What changes is your risk appetite and therefore through structuring you can find 00:34:15.604 --> 00:34:20.268 the solution for that. The second example I have again starting with our own 00:34:20.357 --> 00:34:27.939 investing our own capital is in the agroforestry restoration space. 00:34:28.024 --> 00:34:32.742 And again very quickly here you find that the carbon markets that everybody's trying 00:34:32.829 --> 00:34:37.735 to impact rely on these small farmers small holders who could actually deliver huge 00:34:37.830 --> 00:34:43.384 value generate income and at the same time contribute to the carbon credits that all 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 00:34:48.069 --> 00:34:53.098 that. So again we went to this drawing board structured designed it in a way that 00:34:53.164 --> 00:34:57.747 gave it this opportunity space. And now you are finding large companies coming say 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 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 00:35:08.564 --> 00:35:13.566 coffee tea farmers are seeing declining yields which will have a huge impact on 00:35:13.623 --> 00:35:17.978 local economies and therefore an opportunity for using carbon as a supplementary 00:35:18.027 --> 00:35:22.518 income for these types of farmers. I'll close with the last example because this one 00:35:22.564 --> 00:35:28.726 is very close to my heart. We were working with a small community providing working 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 00:35:33.952 --> 00:35:40.285 able to use AI to go very fast and offer solutions to refugee camps to individuals 00:35:40.363 --> 00:35:42.844 in very small one and two person companies. 00:35:43.264 --> 00:35:48.152 During COVID and beyond. And that kind of financing became then the backbone to say 00:35:48.206 --> 00:35:51.532 you actually can reach these types of opportunities. 00:35:51.604 --> 00:35:58.085 It is not a philanthropic activity. It could be a business opportunity because we've 00:35:58.127 --> 00:36:01.680 shown that you could do it but you have to do the structuring right. 00:36:01.744 --> 00:36:06.290 Currency risk was huge. Credit risk was limited. 00:36:06.364 --> 00:36:09.252 So if you find those then you can find ways to do it. 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 00:36:14.764 --> 00:36:18.474 presidency of the UK coming up in a few months to pick this up. 00:36:18.544 --> 00:36:23.944 MDB reforms so that these solutions are not one-time emergency crisis but can be a 00:36:24.004 --> 00:36:28.794 repeated vehicle going forward. Platform solutions bringing in the different stacks 00:36:28.852 --> 00:36:34.299 of capital from humanitarian to market capital capital market at the root because 00:36:34.350 --> 00:36:37.667 you need someone there when the aid goes away. 00:36:37.744 --> 00:36:40.503 Project preparation and pipeline development. 00:36:40.564 --> 00:36:43.524 I can't say more strongly what Jacqueline has just said. 00:36:43.564 --> 00:36:46.633 You need somebody to invest in that space. 00:36:46.804 --> 00:36:51.262 Asset recycling because there you have opportunity to reuse assets that have already 00:36:51.319 --> 00:36:56.931 been funded release capital to do more things and then partnerships and the trust 00:36:57.004 --> 00:37:01.844 issue I cannot agree more that can take you for the long term to deliver unique 00:37:01.901 --> 00:37:07.418 solutions. So for invest frontier start with a few country priorities a few local 00:37:07.492 --> 00:37:13.022 enterprises agree who prepares who buys who bears risk and a deadline for deployment 00:37:13.084 --> 00:37:15.556 and next year when we meet you'll see we have gone very far. 00:37:15.604 --> 00:37:16.804 Thank you. 00:37:17.284 --> 00:37:24.097 Thank you Franny. I just. Want to underline the real world experience that you have 00:37:24.146 --> 00:37:26.644 had actually investing in small enterprises. 00:37:26.704 --> 00:37:29.235 You said even some are one or two person businesses. 00:37:29.284 --> 00:37:33.912 Having zero non-performing loans even in the most challenging environments. 00:37:33.964 --> 00:37:37.705 That's incredible results and hopefully gives confidence to everyone here that these 00:37:37.752 --> 00:37:42.154 markets should not be off limits to private investors and those who are seeking real 00:37:42.193 --> 00:37:44.294 returns. There are opportunities everywhere. 00:37:44.344 --> 00:37:47.698 I want to ask Barry Andrews to join the discussion now. 00:37:47.764 --> 00:37:51.347 Barry as a member of the European Parliament and chairs of course the European 00:37:51.390 --> 00:37:54.849 Parliament's committee on development. You're thick in the middle of the 00:37:54.900 --> 00:38:00.069 negotiations on the financing envelope for the future of the European Commission's 00:38:00.124 --> 00:38:02.069 funding around humanitarian and development assistance. 00:38:02.104 --> 00:38:03.364 So we're eager to hear your thoughts. 00:38:04.084 --> 00:38:08.520 Thank you Raj and good morning everybody. Commissioner thank you very much. 00:38:08.584 --> 00:38:13.212 In Shiva for this incredible initiative I'm very excited to be president at the 00:38:13.255 --> 00:38:17.495 beginning of something and I want to share that sentiment with so many of the 00:38:17.545 --> 00:38:21.657 earlier speakers that it feels like we are at the beginning of something quite 00:38:21.712 --> 00:38:26.579 exciting. But as Raj said my role is here on behalf of the European Parliament. 00:38:26.644 --> 00:38:32.434 We are the responsible for the European budget together with the Council and as such 00:38:32.535 --> 00:38:38.462 our we're probably the most direct interface with European taxpayers and our job is 00:38:38.524 --> 00:38:42.775 to make sure that we are accountable that European taxpayer taxpayers have 00:38:42.844 --> 00:38:48.421 confidence in initiatives such as this. So I want to raise some issues not because I 00:38:48.478 --> 00:38:53.801 want to create obstacles I want to just make sure that we understand the kinds of 00:38:53.850 --> 00:38:58.166 issues that might create anxieties among some of the members of the European 00:38:58.211 --> 00:39:02.161 Parliament at this early stage to allow the debates to shape the debates and 00:39:02.215 --> 00:39:06.609 anticipate the kind of issues and the obstacles that we need to overcome at the 00:39:06.690 --> 00:39:13.624 earliest stage. So together with His Excellency in Saudi Arabia I would share the 00:39:13.695 --> 00:39:18.105 concern that we make sure that we have a laser focus on least developed countries I 00:39:18.149 --> 00:39:22.384 know that it is the focus of this conference on fragile and conflict affected 00:39:22.444 --> 00:39:27.046 countries but 20 years ago we launched aid for trade which is a central component of 00:39:27.092 --> 00:39:30.555 the global gateway and we had a hearing in the Parliament this week which 00:39:30.604 --> 00:39:35.404 demonstrated that aid for trade has left least developed countries behind very very 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 00:39:40.499 --> 00:39:44.497 to maintain a laser focus on it. The second point is to get the balance right 00:39:44.540 --> 00:39:49.546 between transparency the right of the Parliament for example to oversee issues and 00:39:49.624 --> 00:39:54.172 then the need for private sector commercial sensitivity of course when you're 00:39:54.220 --> 00:39:58.214 dealing with the private sector there are going to be issues around that and as a 00:39:58.283 --> 00:40:02.484 Parliament that is something we really struggle with it's something we've struggled 00:40:02.524 --> 00:40:03.544 with with global 00:40:03.544 --> 00:40:08.967 gateway it's very difficult to get information about how much public sector money is 00:40:09.037 --> 00:40:13.347 actually leveraging private sector investment it's very difficult to get it figures 00:40:13.409 --> 00:40:17.276 around the impact on human development it's very difficult to look at the actual 00:40:17.329 --> 00:40:21.757 inputs of guarantees and blended finance. So just getting the balance right between 00:40:21.806 --> 00:40:25.375 transparency and of course commercial sensitivity. 00:40:25.444 --> 00:40:30.199 The third point I want to make and this is true of all private partner public 00:40:30.252 --> 00:40:34.641 private partnerships and that is to try to get the risk balance right. 00:40:34.684 --> 00:40:38.194 We can't have a situation where we have a privatization of profit and a 00:40:38.264 --> 00:40:45.440 socialization of risk and you've already talked about this Franny about where risk 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 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 00:40:53.980 --> 00:40:59.365 well. The fourth point is how we interface with the new trend made in Europe 00:40:59.489 --> 00:41:03.846 obviously there are representatives here from all over the world and of course we 00:41:03.887 --> 00:41:08.382 want to involve multilateral development banks but made in Europe is a trend away 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 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 00:41:17.433 --> 00:41:22.279 to update the humanitarian regulation given that it goes back to 1996 and this is a 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:25.857 very new approach which requires a lot of flexibility. 00:41:25.984 --> 00:41:31.399 The fifth point is even in developed countries the application of scarce resources 00:41:31.444 --> 00:41:36.083 can be very contested you know that that goes without saying where you make an 00:41:36.121 --> 00:41:40.904 investment where you pay out on an insurance for example that is controlled by a 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 00:41:44.906 --> 00:41:49.913 case in fragile and conflict affected countries where the application of scarce 00:41:49.984 --> 00:41:54.009 resources can be very contested happens in developed countries but also in 00:41:54.059 --> 00:41:57.497 developing countries and something we have to be very sensitive towards. 00:41:57.544 --> 00:42:01.536 Finally just a few quick points and that is I think we should avoid too many 00:42:01.588 --> 00:42:02.164 flagships. 00:42:02.164 --> 00:42:04.046 I think that's been a weakness of global gateway. 00:42:04.084 --> 00:42:09.628 I acknowledged by DG INTPA my limited knowledge of naval warfare tells me that you 00:42:09.672 --> 00:42:13.378 should only have one flagship to avoid confusion but there you go. 00:42:13.444 --> 00:42:20.086 I think we also have to avoid overpromising impact investing isn't new agenda 2030 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 00:42:24.550 --> 00:42:29.323 Michael Porter is talking about the shared value initiative. 00:42:29.404 --> 00:42:33.961 And finally I think it's important that we have representatives of developing 00:42:34.024 --> 00:42:36.432 countries really central to this conversation. 00:42:36.484 --> 00:42:38.127 It's great that the private sector are here. 00:42:38.164 --> 00:42:42.864 So finally just to say the Parliament is stands ready to really collaborate on this. 00:42:42.904 --> 00:42:47.025 It's great that it's strategic. It's based on the humanitarian communication in May 00:42:47.092 --> 00:42:52.337 with a with a with a medium term aim towards leveraging 10 billion dollars by 2028. 00:42:52.399 --> 00:42:56.569 So we will be there but we will carry out our function of oversight. 00:42:56.631 --> 00:42:57.831 Thank you.