- EIB Group President Nadia Calviño will present new projects contributing to the development of the region at the CELAC-EU Summit in Santa Marta, Colombia this weekend.
- Investments to strengthen regional electricity integration, clean energy generation and water and sanitation infrastructure across Latin America will be announced.
- The president will attend the summit, give a speech to the LAC-EU Business Forum and meet with the leaders of several countries.
A European Investment Bank (EIB) delegation led by EIB Group President Nadia Calviño will attend the CELAC-EU (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States-European Union) Summit in Santa Marta, Colombia this weekend. Following the summit, the president will travel to Panama for her first official visit to the country. EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris will join President Calviño at the meetings.
During the meetings, the EIB will announce new investments for projects in Latin America, a region in which the Bank has been operating since 1978 and where it has invested over $20 billion, supporting 350 projects in 30 countries. The EIB investments will improve climate change adaptation, boost female entrepreneurship, power grids, transport and telecommunications, and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises.
President Calviño will take part in the CELAC-EU plenary session and the Latin America and the Caribbean-European Union (LAC-EU) Business Forum, and together with Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris will hold a series of bilateral meetings with government, business institutional leaders. Vice-President Tsakiris will also participate in an event jointly organised by the EIB and Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on the role of European and Latin American public sector banks in mobilising resources for financing strategic and sustainable infrastructure between the European Union and Latin America.
Speaking ahead of the announcements, EIB Group President Nadia Calviño said:
“The EU and Latin America and the Caribbean have come a long way together, based on our shared values, dialogue and cooperation. In Santa Marta, we have a unique opportunity to continue strengthening this valuable partnership, promoting fair and sustainable development.”
Also speaking ahead of the announcements, EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris added:
“These investments reaffirm the European Investment Bank’s long history of working with Latin America and the Caribbean. Through close cooperation with government, development banks and the private sector, we are unlocking financing for real impact: cleaner energy, modern infrastructure and stronger communities.”
The announcements will include projects in Central America, Colombia, and Ecuador, focusing on:
- strengthening cross-border integration of regional power grids;
- expanding solar and renewable energy generation;
- modernising water, sanitation and waste management systems to improve public health and climate resilience.
Developed in close collaboration with the European Commission, national and regional partners, the new operations will support the EU Global Gateway strategy and promote sustainable growth, advancing green infrastructure and strengthening community resilience throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The projects underline EIB Global’s role as the European Union’s climate and development bank and its growing impact across Latin America.
Latin America and the Caribbean-European Union Business Forum
Watch President Nadia Calviño’s speech here.
Media interviews
For interview requests with members of the EIB delegation, please get in touch with the press contact below.
Background information
About EIB Global:
The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. It finances investments that contribute to EU policy objectives.
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of the Global Gateway. It aims to support around $115 billion (€100 billion) of investment by the end of 2027. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through its offices across the world. Photos of EIB headquarters for media use are available here.
The EIB in Latin America and the Caribbean
The European Investment Bank has been providing economic support for projects in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2022, facilitating long-term investment with favourable conditions and 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 and the Caribbean in 1978, it has provided total financing of more than $20 billion (€17 billion) to support over 350 projects in 30 countries in the region.
About the Global Gateway Investment Agenda:
EIB Global is a key partner in the implementation of the European Union’s Global Gateway Investment Agenda, 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, building on the Bank’s 65 years of experience in this domain.