On October 12, the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) held its 14th Advisory Council Meeting on the topic of The Energy Transition Investment Opportunity. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mari Pangestu, World Bank Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships; and Daniel Zelikow, Vice Chairman and Global Head of Public Sector at J.P. Morgan, for co-chairing the meeting. This AC Meeting highlighted how our partnerships are critical to the success of the GIF’s unique global platform of collaboration in preparing sustainable infrastructure investment opportunities in emerging markets and developing economies, and we look forward to our continued engagements.
The day’s discussions were enriched by all in attendance. Specifically, topics explored and questions debated at this meeting allowed us to focus on how the energy transition is giving rise to investment opportunities for the private sector. We set the scene by emphasizing the need to meet global infrastructure requirements with a net-zero approach, especially in emerging markets, with remarks by Mary Schapiro, Former Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Vice Chair of Global Public Policy, Special Advisor to the Founder and Chairman, Bloomberg; and Amitabh Kant, Government of India, G20 Sherpa and former CEO of Niti Aayog. A discussion on the role of blended finance in the energy transition followed with comments by Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence. We were honored to have presentations on the energy transition programs of Egypt by Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, Arab Republic of Egypt; Uzbekistan by Odilbek Isakov, Deputy Minister of Finance for Uzbekistan; and South Africa by Mafalda Duarte, CEO of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF). We concluded the day with closing remarks from Julia Prescot, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Meridiam, who will be succeeding Daniel Zelikow as the Co-Chair of the GIF Advisory Council in January 2023. Julia highlighted the role the GIF can play in the delivery of infrastructure investments through project preparation and collaboration across public decision makers, multi-lateral development banks, and private financiers.
READ THE EVENT SUMMARY HERE
