President Calviño at the 2025 Global Gateway Forum

Thank you very much.

Indeed, I was listening to this very interesting panel, and I am absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to close this very interesting, very insightful exchange with very interesting metaphors to try to describe what we are living these days.

This new global order that is in the making. We are at a historical moment, we are at a crucial moment. And it is the moment, moments like this, that really call on us to decide what is the right direction forward and how can we contribute to shaping this new global order in the best manner possible.

And what I take from this panel, and what I take from the whole Global Gateway Forum, is that when some are moving away from this multilateral system, rules-based trade – a system based on diplomacy – when some are moving away, the rest of the world, we are moving forward. And that is a quite powerful message because we are renewing, we are reinstating our commitment to win-win partnerships based on mutual respect that protect cooperative outcomes and peace at the end of the day. And in this context, the European Investment Bank, as the financing arm of the European Union –  owned by the 27 Member States, neither more nor less – we are at a unique position to be the key partner of the European Union, of the European Commission, to perform and to deliver this Global Gateway strategy.

We finance impactful projects. Of these €300 billion that have been already mentioned today – this was the original objective, it has already been met – the European Investment Bank is financing, is mobilising close to one-third of the total amount. And that means real projects on the ground which go from primary health to cooking devices throughout Africa. From the energy interconnector between Ecuador and Peru and other important networks in Latin America, to support to the private sector in Asian countries like Vietnam, actually.

We are partnering with key strategic institutions around the world – from the Gates Foundation to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – to finance not only the delivery of polio vaccines to children around the world, but also the financing of vaccine production facilities in Africa in making a difference, really, with a long-standing impact on the ground. We're also enabling access to millions of citizens to clean water.

Actually, just to show how we're walking the talk, between today and tomorrow we will announce new EIB support to several partner countries, including a loan to expand wind power in Cabo Verde, a financing package for BioNTech to develop a local vaccine manufacturing facility in Rwanda. I apologise, we had to advance a bit the schedule for this speech precisely so that I can go and sign this very important agreement.

From MedAccess in Nigeria to support manufacturers of medicines and vaccines. And also, we are backing green energy networks in Mauritania. I was just with the president of Mauritania actually signing and announcing this very important agreement. We're also signing agreements to support power links and renewable energy in Central and Southeast Asia.  And we're supporting the Medusa Submarine Cable to enhance digital connectivity throughout the Mediterranean.

I wanted to mention these concrete examples of what Global Gateway delivers and how the European Investment Bank can leverage the guarantees of the European budget. And through our very close partnership with the European Commission and of course, Commissioner Síkela being the key partner to us, that we can, as a Team Europe, fund and make possible transformational projects all around the world.

When many are talking, let me use another metaphor, when some and so many people are talking about building walls, we're building bridges for a better world. And we're also showing in a world that is becoming increasingly transactional, that actually the currency that carries more value in the world right now is trust. And this is, I think, what we are showing in these couple of days.

Let me close these closing remarks, mentioning not only individual projects, not only innovative finance that we're developing.

Let me mention another way where the European Investment Bank is making a difference in mobilising private investment around the world. And that is the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database. The acronym is GEMs. And I wanted to mention it in this room because many experts, rating agencies, private investors, many financial institutions know about it. But it is really a game changer because it is a database that we have been building together with the World Bank to bring together the experience of multilateral institutions for the past 40 years, lending to emerging economies around the world. And what this database shows us is that the likelihood of defaults and the likelihood of losses is lower than one would think, you know, based on pure prejudice. I think that the use of data actually gives us a lot of hope about the interest of fostering investments, not only public investments, but also private investments in emerging economies.

And in many of the countries that are represented here, we will continue to try to foster and support a database decision-making process so that we can also facilitate this private finance, which is of the essence, as the vice-president was saying, so that we can all stand on our two feet, you know, and make the most of the current opportunities.

We're really proud, I have to tell you, at the European Investment Bank and me as president of the institution to be at the helm of an institution that is so determined to continue to go in the direction of leveraging guarantees from the European budget, including from the current and the next Multiannual Financial Framework, to build a more stable, more prosperous Europe, but also to contribute to a better world.

You can count on the European Investment Bank, financing arm of the EU but also a proud member of the multilateral family, to contribute to this new global order going in the direction of building bridges, mutual cooperation, mutual respect and peace.

And vice-president, you were very inspiring, and I think everybody in the room was very impressed by your words and you asked “so what should you and I do?”  

Well, I think, you know, what I have just described is the good fight so, what you and I should do is just join the fight.

Thank you very much, I leave you with this call for action.