- First visit to Ecuador by EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Félix since the launch of EIB Global.
- Mourinho Félix will unveil support for Ecuador and discuss new financing opportunities.
- Meetings with high-level representatives and a new announcement for the healthcare sector highlight the EIB’s increased commitment to the country.
Ricardo Mourinho Félix, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), will lead a high-level delegation during his first visit to Ecuador as the EIB Vice-President responsible for activities in the country and across Latin America.
The EIB delegation will make a three-day visit to Quito and Portoviejo to reaffirm the EU bank’s commitment to continue supporting projects that promote sustainable development in Ecuador and Latin America. During the visit, he will unveil financing for a healthcare project supporting a childhood vaccination campaign that will benefit more than 2 million children in Ecuador. He will also hold meetings with key stakeholders to cement the close working relationship between the EIB and Ecuador.
Mourinho Félix will open a shopping centre in Portoviejo, one of several projects financed by an EIB loan for post-earthquake reconstruction. He will also visit the communities in the municipality of Portoviejo that benefited from an EIB loan to develop drinking water and sanitation networks in the region. Following the launch of EIB Global in 2022, the visit will be an opportunity to strengthen collaboration with the Ecuadorian authorities, including ministerial, banking and regional representatives with whom the delegation will meet next week.
“Ecuador is the third largest recipient of EIB funds in Latin America. We are committed to continuing to provide support for vital projects both in the country and across the whole region. The EIB has granted more than €875 million in financing to Ecuador since 2006, and I look forward to unveiling further financing for a healthcare project during my visit this week. As the climate bank of the European Union and as part of the Global Gateway initiative, we launched EIB Global, a new arm of the Bank specialised in international partnerships and development finance. Through these strong partnerships, we will be able to step up our activities in Ecuador and the region in the coming years,” said EIB Vice-President Mourinho Félix ahead of the visit.
Background information
About the EIB:
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. The EIB brings the experience and expertise of its in-house engineers and economists to help develop and appraise top quality projects. As an AAA-rated, policy-driven EU financial institution, the EIB offers attractive financial terms such as competitive interest rates and project-aligned loan durations. Through our partnerships with the European Union and other donors, we can often provide grants to further improve the development impact of the projects we support.
About the EIB in Ecuador:
The EIB is the largest multilateral public bank in the world. In 2022, it financed around €9 billion in investments outside the European Union. Ecuador is among the biggest beneficiaries of EIB financing in Latin America. Since the EU bank started working there in 2006, it has provided over €800 million to finance investments with favourable conditions — in terms of both maturity and interest rates — with the aim of improving the quality of life of Ecuadorians.
About the EIB in Latin America:
The EIB provides economic support for projects in Latin America by facilitating long-term investment with favourable conditions and by providing the technical support needed to ensure that these projects deliver positive social, economic and environmental results. Since the EIB began operating in Latin America in 1993, it has provided total financing of almost €13 billion to support 150 projects in 15 countries in the region.
About the Global Gateway initiative:
EIB Global is a key partner in the implementation of the EU Global Gateway initiative, supporting sound projects that improve global and regional connectivity in the digital, climate, transport, health, energy and education sectors. Investing in connectivity is at the very heart of what EIB Global does, drawing on the Bank’s 60 years of experience. Alongside our partners, fellow EU institutions and EU Member States, we aim to support €100 billion of investment — around one-third of the initiative’s overall budget — by the end of 2027.