The G20 Brazilian Presidency and the Australian Co-Chair held the third Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, in June, which consisted of five sessions: Linking Infrastructure and Poverty Reduction, Delivering Cross-Border Infrastructure, Financing Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, Infrastructure Global Trends, and Mitigating Exchange Rate Risks.
Henri Blas, Program Lead for the Global Infrastructure Hub, participated in session four of the meeting focused on Infrastructure Global Trends. Building on the success of the GI Hub’s presentation at the second IWG meeting in April, Blas provided further analysis focusing on cost inflation and investment trends, project development funds and preparation facilities, as well as local currency financing and the role of DFIs in enabling private investment — all key aspects of the G20 Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class. The presentation was well received, with several countries expressing interest in further bilateral discussions with the GI Hub. Additionally, there was support for continuing to produce similar presentations and reports on global trends for the IWG in the coming years.
Other representatives from the World Bank also provided an overview on a draft report on Infrastructure and Poverty Reduction: Innovative Policies for Affordable Access. Additionally, the World Bank’s Global Infrastructure Facility presented an update on its draft report — Addressing Exchange Rate Risks in Infrastructure Projects in EMDEs. The presentation highlighted the importance of foreign exchange risks in the overall context of infrastructure project risks, especially in developing countries, and covered country-level disparities, project-level mechanisms, and key considerations for the way forward.
The GI Hub extends it gratitude to the G20 Brazilian Presidency and the Australian Co-Chair for the opportunity to participate in this insightful and productive meeting and looks forward to working with members further to discuss how we can collaborate to bridge data gaps and address challenges to create a more favorable environment for infrastructure investment.
If you would like to learn more about the infrastructure investment trends presented by the GI Hub, please email us at gihub@worldbank.org
