World Bank's MIGA Strikes Accord with French Development Agency: Agreement to boost investment into developing countries
World Bank's MIGA Strikes Accord with French Development Agency: Agreement to boost investment into developing countries
PARIS, July 17, 2001 — The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a member of the World Bank Group, and PROPARCO, a development finance institution and member of the French Development Agency (AfD), signed an agreement today to jointly promote French investment into emerging economies.
Under the arrangement, MIGA and PROPARCO will work together to identify possible projects for guarantee coverage, with a special focus on small- and medium-sized enterprises and large infrastructure, mining, and industrial projects. The agencies will co-insure and reinsure each other's projects. The two also underscored their commitment to work closely with France's export credit agency, COFACE.
"We continue to collaborate with our public and private sector counterparts globally to really leverage our role in promoting foreign investment into developing countries," said MIGA's Vice President for Guarantees, Roger Pruneau, at the signing in Paris.
Since 1991, MIGA has provided nearly a half a billion dollars in guarantee coverage to French investors for projects running the gamut of sectors and regions. "This collaboration with PROPARCO makes a lot of sense for us. We are looking to expand our portfolio, particularly in sub-Saharan and northern Africa. This agreement will help facilitate French investment into these regions and elsewhere," said Pruneau.
From 1994-98, French companies invested almost $17 billion in 31 developing countries, about 11 percent of total FDI. "We believe this risk-sharing collaboration will play a big role in promoting French investments and joint ventures in developing countries, especially those that need it most," said Gilles Peltier, director general of PROPARCO.
For information:
Catherine Chevallier, chevallierca@afd.fr, t. 01.53.44.36.78 (France)
Angela Gentile, agentile@worldbank.org,
t. 202.473.3509 (US)