MIGA and the International Law Institute Cooperate to Strengthen Capacity in Developing Countries

WASHINGTON DC, June 7, 2021 – MIGA, a member of the World Bank Group, and the International Law Institute (ILI), a capacity building and technical assistance institute headquartered in Washington DC, have agreed to jointly develop and conduct a legal, economic, and policy capacity building curriculum and certificate program as related to political risk insurance (PRI). The collaborative effort aims to increase the institutional capacity of government officials, legal practitioners, private sector clients, and members of multilateral and other international development organizations.

The two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that envisages greater cooperation and the use of the institutions’ respective expertise to train MIGA clients and relevant stakeholders from developing countries on political risk insurance products, optimal structures for public-private partnerships requiring MIGA products, and other issues that arise in the context of political risk insurance, cross-border transactions, dispute resolution, and governance.

“MIGA has a unique role as the only global multilateral political risk insurer and member of the World Bank Group,” said Ethiopis Tafara, MIGA’s Vice President & Chief Risk, Legal and Admin Officer and Vice President for Partnerships. “MIGA’s insurance provides an umbrella of deterrence for projects against disruptive government actions, and MIGA and ILI will work together to increase capacity for the extension of PRI in more developing countries.”

In many developing countries, private sector-led economic development continues to be hindered by security risks and political instability, lack of infrastructure, lack of access to finance, and inadequate workforce skills. MIGA’s PRI guarantees, when enhanced by technical assistance and capacity building to private sector clients, governments, and local practitioners can boost efforts to address these issues and spur further private sector investment.

"Through ILI’s work in developing countries around the globe, it has become evident that establishing project structures, transparency, robust standards, and adherence to the rule of law are key to successful private sector-led development,” said Professor Don Wallace, Jr, Chairman of ILI. "Ultimately, the goal of heightened cooperation between ILI and MIGA is to increase key capacity development so that more projects in developing countries have access to and qualify for political risk insurance guarantees, which will in turn lead to greater investment."

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MIGA was created in 1988 as a member of the World Bank Group to promote foreign direct investment in emerging economies by helping mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war & civil disturbance; and offering credit enhancement to private investors and lenders.

Since its creation, MIGA has issued over US$59 billion in guarantees across 118 developing countries.

Contacts

In Washington:  Vamsee Krishna Kanchi, (202) 458-9771, vkanchi@worldbank.org

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