EIB Sets Out Global Investment Priorities as It Prepares to Lead Development Banks

According to EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, multilateral development banks delivered a record $163 billion in climate finance in 2025, supporting energy projects, sustainable growth and resilience.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is preparing to chair the network of multilateral development banks in 2027, with President Nadia Calviño placing international cooperation and Europe's commitment to peace, trust and mutual respect at the centre of its agenda.

The EIB briefing outlines a programme of meetings and investment announcements covering climate finance, private capital, supply chains and economic resilience. The bank will assume the chair of the Heads of Multilateral Development Banks Group in December 2026, taking on a coordinating role as these institutions work to turn shared priorities into projects that benefit businesses and communities.

"Together, we can turn uncertainty into a new era of opportunity, investment and shared prosperity," Calviño said.

Making Cooperation Deliver More Investment

According to EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, multilateral development banks delivered a record $163 billion in climate finance in 2025, supporting energy projects, sustainable growth and resilience. Fayolle identified the need to mobilise much more private investment as a central challenge, with better information about investment risks offering one practical route to attracting capital.

He highlighted GEMs, a group of 29 institutions co-led by the EIB and the World Bank Group, which pools decades of data to improve understanding of risks in emerging and developing markets. Sharing this information can help investors make better-informed decisions and support efforts to unlock private finance.

For the EIB, this is a concrete example of what cooperation across the development banking system can achieve: institutions combining their knowledge to help investment reach places where it is needed.

A Busy Agenda for Global Development

Calviño and Fayolle's programme around the 2026 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund brings together discussions on economic partnerships, innovation, climate investment and development finance. On 14 October, Calviño is scheduled to participate in the Ukraine ministerial roundtable and a breakfast discussion organised by Foreign Policy and the Resilience Action Network International, titled "Investing in Stability: Strategic External Action in a Fragmented World."

Her 15 October programme includes an Atlantic Council discussion on the economic outlook and global partnerships, covering stronger trade and supply chains, and a Center for Global Development panel on "The future of the MDBs".

Fayolle's engagements on 13 October include the Xingu Finance Talks High-Level roundtable on advancing climate investment in line with the Paris Agreement, alongside a European Union Intellectual Property Office roundtable on financing innovation through intangible assets. On 14 October, he is scheduled to join "Investing in Water for Jobs and Prosperity" and a climate dinner with representatives of multilateral development banks.

Strengthening Supply Chains Through Asian Partnerships

The EIB's international agenda includes investments intended to strengthen Europe's supply chains through partnerships in Asia, with semiconductor production and critical minerals among the areas receiving attention.

The briefing says the EIB Group is signing a $250 million loan that week with European semiconductor company NXP to expand production in Malaysia. The project is expected to diversify manufacturing, strengthen Europe's supply chain and create more than 1,000 local jobs.

The investment connects European industrial needs with production and employment in a partner country, illustrating how international financing can support economic interests across regions.

Fayolle is scheduled to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation on 15 October, opening the door to cooperation in new areas, including critical minerals.

These partnerships form part of a broader effort to build more diverse supply networks and deepen cooperation with Asian institutions and businesses.

Climate and Resilience Shape the Regional Agenda

The EIB Group provided €1.1 billion in financing across Asia and the Pacific in 2025, according to its newly published EIB Group Global Impact annual report, with support focused on climate action, environmental sustainability, water security, resilient infrastructure and strategic connectivity.

The briefing reports that nine out of every ten euros invested by the EIB in the region went towards climate action and environmental sustainability, underlining the weight these priorities carry in its regional work.

Calviño is scheduled to be in Manila on 17 October for the Heads of Multilateral Development Banks Group meeting, where discussions will cover common priorities for joint work, including critical minerals, ahead of the EIB's forthcoming chairmanship.

The bank's proposed agenda brings a clear practical focus to its support for multilateralism: sharing risk data, attracting private investment, financing infrastructure and building partnerships that can deliver jobs, stronger supply chains and greater resilience.