Online - 20 November 2020: Firstly, let me congratulate the Saudi Presidency for its leadership and for the achievements made during such a challenging year.
While we recognise that countries are in different stages of this COVID-19 crisis, the GI Hub’s work has shown that infrastructure-related investments should become an important element of medium- to long-term stimulus measures to help drive the global economic recovery.
I am glad that this sentiment is echoed in the surveillance note from the International Monetary Fund, and by many G20 members during their intervention today.
We remain committed to supporting G20 members and the Presidency in the recovery process through our contributions to the G20 Action Plan.
First, building on the work on the fiscal multiplier impacts of infrastructure investment, we are now identifying how experience from current and previous stimulus packages can help support the G20 governments in making more informed decisions on how to include infrastructure as stimulus post-COVID. This work will be presented to you during the next year.
Second, with fiscal spaces heavily constrained, private sector participation in infrastructure is becoming paramount.
Since I spoke to you in October, we launched our Infrastructure Monitor report – which establishes that worldwide, private investment in new infrastructure only amounts to about USD100 billion a year, despite all the international efforts to date. We will continue our various initiatives to support the enhancement of private sector participation in infrastructure. Still, there is an important call to action for governments and all stakeholders to get mobilised to advance on this pressing issue to enable our recovery.
Third, to ensure a global, sustainable, fair and transformative recovery, the development of infrastructure should be aligned with the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment (QII). To that end, we are collecting, with the support of the G20, case studies that demonstrate how this could be done. This work will inform the important work the International Finance Cooperation will continue doing on the QII indicators framework. I look forward to sharing this work further with you all at the next meeting.
Once again, congratulations to you and your team for all that has been achieved in such a challenging year, and we look forward to working with the incoming Italian Presidency on delivering their infrastructure agenda.
Infrastructure Monitor
