Abidjan the capital of Côte d’Ivoire is set to host a global finance summit that focuses on global economic recovery and transition to green economy.
Public development banks from around the world will gather in Abidjan from October 18-20, 2022 to enhance a green and just transition for a sustainable recovery. The third edition of the Finance in Common Summit will take place under the theme “Green and Just transition for a sustainable recovery”.
For the first time, the summit will be hosted by two major multilateral banks: the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), in partnership with the French Development Bank (AFD), the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB).
It will gather the entire Finance in Common coalition, comprising 520+ Public Development Banks (PDBs) across the world and their stakeholders, including international and regional organizations, private sector corporates, philanthropies, civil society, and members of the academic community.
Ahead of COP27 where progress will be expected from financial actors, the third edition of the FICS Summit will provide an opportunity to highlight the key role of Public Development Banks in supporting the transformation of economies and financial systems towards sustainability, while addressing the most pressing needs of developing countries and vulnerable groups.
Through nine high-level events, the third FICS Summit will foster debates on the importance to financing in common, of resilience and adaptation, green and quality infrastructure, health, and social protection.
“The energy crisis triggers broader structural shifts for countries at all income levels, which come with huge investment needs. At the same time, high energy prices lead to a slowing global economy and investments at a time when these are most needed. No single institution can meet these tremendous needs for investment, nor bridge alone all the knowledge gaps that make projects successful. Working in partnerships is the only solution. I look forward to exploring new ways of cooperating with all Public Development Banks at the third Finance in Common Summit,” said Werner Hoyer, EIB president.
Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group on his part stated that the energy and food security crisis, as worsened by “the persistent effects of the three Cs of – Climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Conflict (Russia’s war in Ukraine), make meeting the Sustainable Development Goals even more challenging”. “We as Multilateral Development Banks and Public Development Banks have a collective responsibility to urgently find new and creative ways to bridge the $2.5 trillion global financing gap to achieve these goals by 2030,” he said .
Finance in Common is the global network of all Public Development Banks (PDBs), which aims to align financial flows on the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement for Climate Change. Its objective is to strengthen partnerships among PDBs to accelerate the convergence towards shared standards and best practices, to support banks’ commitments to shift their strategies towards sustainability, and to give PDBs more visibility in the global fora discussing international policy issues.
“As the world is facing multiple crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine, and its impacts on global economy, energy and food security, we need to join forces and finance at-scale solutions. This is the purpose of Finance in Common – the community of all Public Development Banks, at multilateral, regional and national levels, gathering for the third time in Abidjan this week,” said Rémy Rioux, Chairman of Finance in Common, chairman of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) and Chief Executive Officer of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
“Through strengthened technical and financial cooperation, I believe we can collectively help overhaul the global financial system and unleash the trillions of dollars of SDG-compatible investments needed.”