Italy and UN Partners Set Out Rome’s Growing Role as Global Development Finance Hub

The proposed move would transfer a substantial number of senior UNCDF positions to Rome, building on work carried out over the past year and discussions confirmed during Tajani and De Croo’s February 2026 meeting.

Rome is set to take on a larger role in financing development following a political understanding reached by Italy, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met Alexander De Croo, UNDP Administrator and UNCDF Managing Director, in New York on 23 September 2026 during the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week, confirming plans to strengthen the UNDP Rome Centre and begin moving UNCDF headquarters management functions to the Italian capital.

Senior positions and stronger partnerships for Rome

The proposed move would transfer a substantial number of senior UNCDF positions to Rome, building on work carried out over the past year and discussions confirmed during Tajani and De Croo's February 2026 meeting. Their latest understanding begins the process of relocating management functions, with an expanded UNDP Rome Centre and UNCDF presence expected to create more opportunities for joint programmes and closer working relationships with Italy's development institutions and financial sector.

UNDP's existing presence gives the partnership a substantial foundation, with nearly 100 personnel in Rome and more than US$100 million in partnership volume. Its work includes developing projects capable of attracting financing, reducing investment risks and building the confidence needed to bring investors into initiatives that create jobs. Bringing more expertise and senior management functions into the city is intended to deepen this work, giving international partners a stronger base for cooperation on sustainable investment and new approaches to development finance.

Connecting public funding with private investment

The partnership supports Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's March announcement that Rome would become a European hub for investment in Africa, connecting Italy's international development priorities with the Mattei Plan for Africa. A stronger UNDP Rome Centre is expected to help draw on the European Union's Global Gateway initiative to attract private capital to countries and projects where financing is most needed, extending the partnership's reach through closer cooperation between Italian, European and international institutions.

Public funding would be used strategically to encourage larger investment flows, bringing together national, international, European and private resources for partner countries, particularly fragile and emerging economies. For communities seeking jobs and more reliable economic opportunities, the practical importance lies in turning development priorities into projects that investors are prepared to finance. The partnership places risk reduction, project preparation and trust between public institutions and private investors at the centre of that effort.

Country programmes and €5 million in core funding

Discussions are advancing on joint initiatives involving UNDP, UNCDF and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Italy's development finance institution, in Ethiopia, Egypt and Palestine. A pipeline of jointly designed programmes is being developed, drawing on UNCDF's completion of the European Commission's Pillar 6 assessment for financial instruments, a development relevant to the partners' plans to expand financial cooperation. These initiatives remain under discussion and form part of the work needed to turn the political understanding into practical investment programmes.

Italy's strengthened annual core contribution to UNDP, starting at €5 million in 2026, will help establish the foundation for a longer-term partnership with opportunities for further Italian investment and broader fundraising. Rome's location at the heart of the Mediterranean gives this cooperation particular relevance for Africa and the Middle East, with the expanded UN presence expected to strengthen the city's role in development finance, sustainable investment and private-sector participation.