International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Associate Vice President Donal Brown and Sir Danny Alexander, Vice President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which is the Administrator of the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Finance Facility, signed an MCDF Implementing Partner Agreement in Beijing on 13 July. It was observed by MCDF CEO Zhongjing Wang.
The agreement allows IFAD, an International Financial Institution (IFI) under the United Nations system, to access MCDF Finance Facility grant supportfor cross-border connectivity infrastructure project preparation, capacity building, and information sharing, subject to MCDF Governing Committee approval.
"As IFAD provides "first-mile" connectivity support to the rural population in our member countries, we are convinced that the partnership with MCDF will be extremely useful," said Associate Vice President Brown.
IFAD is the fifth Implementing Partner of the MCDF Finance Facility. The other four Implementing Partners are the African Development Bank, Africa Finance Corporation, AIIB, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.
"AIIB welcomes IFAD joining the growing community of MCDF Finance Facility Implementing Partners," said Vice President Sir Danny. "AIIB looks forward to exploring new collaboration opportunities between AIIB and IFAD in response to demand for high-quality cross-border connectivity infrastructure development worldwide."
"MCDF congratulates IFAD for becoming the latest MCDF Finance Facility Implementing Partner," said CEO Wang. "MCDF deeply appreciates IFAD's and AIIB's legal teams for their efficient coordination in finalizing the Implementing Partner Agreement."
Prior to the signing, Associate Vice President Brown and CEO Wang had a bilateral meeting at the MCDF Secretariat on 12 July. They exchanged concrete ideas for enhancing MCDF-IFAD collaboration.
"IFAD looks forward to deepening our MCDF partnership through the use of MCDF Finance Facility resources and through knowledge sharing, capacity development, and active use of JIGSAW," said Associate Vice President Brown. "We are also keen to explore opportunities to work together with MCDF to promote "public, private, and producer partnerships" in the context of connectivity development."
"With IFAD's unique mandate focusing on agriculture and rural development, MCDF believes IFAD will open a new horizon for MCDF Finance Facility's operations," said CEO Wang. "MCDF is excited to work closely with IFAD to raise its internal capacity to efficiently use MCDF Finance Facility resources," he concluded.
To date, the MCDF Finance Facility has provided 25 approved grants to support cross-border connectivity infrastructure projects, reaching a total amount of USD34.2 million, which is expected to mobilize USD7.1 billion in investment in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Established in 1978, IFAD has 178 member states and has provided more than US$24 billion in grants and low-interest loans to fund projects in developing countries. Over 194 IFAD ongoing projects in more than 92 countries have demonstrated that, with access to finance, markets, technology and information, rural people can lift themselves out of poverty.
