EIB and WTO sign first agreement to strengthen cooperation on global trade and investment

This article is published in association with European Investment Bank.

• EIB Global and the World Trade Organization Secretariat sign first partnership to boost sustainable trade and investment worldwide.
• Agreement aims to help remove barriers to trade and investment expanding opportunities for partner countries and European businesses.
• Signed at EIB Group Forum, accord paves way for a pilot “Trade and Investment Facilitation Initiative” combining regulatory reforms with EIB financing initially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) Group and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat have taken an unprecedented step to support sustainable global commerce and economic development. The EIB Group’s arm for international partnerships and development finance, EIB Global, and the WTO Secretariat today signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation to promote investment, facilitate trade and enhance commerce-related capacity building. The agreement will allow partner countries to benefit from the EIB’s financial firepower supported by WTO’s regulatory reform agenda, in an integrated approach.

The partnership, signed at the EIB Group Forum in Luxembourg, also includes the “EIB-WTO Trade and Investment Facilitation Initiative” to mobilise capital, support improved investment regulation and bolster trade between the European Union and partner countries. The initiative is developed in consultation with the European Commission, to create mutually beneficial investment and trade opportunities in line with the EU’s Global Gateway priorities. Initially, this will focus on selected partner countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and critical sectors to unlock investments linked to priorities such as green and digital transition, health, education and training, sustainable growth and decent job creation.

“Europe stands firmly behind a fair and rules-based global trading system,” said EIB Group President Nadia Calviño. “This agreement between the European Investment Bank and the World Trade Organization Secretariat will help turn trade policy dialogue into concrete, high-impact investments. It will help partner countries attract more and better-quality investment, while supporting reform and creating new trading opportunities for EU businesses. At a time when we need them most, it contributes to win-win partnerships based on mutual respect for shared prosperity.”

Under the agreement, the EIB Group and the WTO Secretariat will also work on analytical and research activities, exchanging insights on global investment and trade trends to inform policy and operational decisions. They will collaborate to strengthen trade, investment and regulatory frameworks in partner countries. The collaboration will particularly support the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement concluded among over three-quarters of WTO members, which establishes the first global set of rules to facilitate foreign direct investment flows by improving regulatory frameworks and cutting red tape.

“The new EIB–WTO partnership represents an important step toward mobilizing finance and strengthening the investment environment in developing countries,” said WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. “At a time when global foreign direct investment flows are lower than we need them to be, the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement offers participating Members a practical framework to reduce risk, enhance transparency, and reinforce regulatory predictability. This partnership aligns policy reform efforts with catalytic financing, and thus promises to unlock private investment in strategic sectors, including critical minerals, digital technologies, and the bioeconomy, beginning with a pilot group of African countries and expanding over time.”

A central part of the new agreement is the launch of the EIB–WTO Trade and Investment Facilitation Initiative with an initial phase in Africa, which spans regulatory reforms, investment planning and project preparation. The EIB and the WTO Secretariat will assist countries in assessing their needs and help develop operational action plans that identify specific reforms needed to unlock investment.

The EIB will then support the preparation of projects through its advisory activities, helping priority investments reach full readiness for financing. Finally, EIB funding and blended finance instruments could be made available for investments – an approach that aims to unlock additional private capital and to ensure sustainable, long-term development.

In parallel, the EIB is also working on other initiatives to promote EU exports and investments in larger volumes and at more competitive prices globally, both inside and outside the union.

Background information 

The EIB Group   

The European Investment Bank (ElB) Group is the financing arm of the European Union, owned by the 27 Member States, and one of the largest multilateral development banks in the world. In 2025, the EIB Group signed €100 billion of new financing and advisory services for over 870 high-impact projects in eight core priorities that support EU policy objectives: climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, territorial cohesion, agriculture and the bioeconomy, social infrastructure, strong global partnerships and the savings and investment union. Beyond long-term loans for large infrastructures, the EIB Group crowds-in private investment for high-risk innovative projects and businesses, with a growing role in Europe’s markets for venture debt, venture capital, guarantees and securitisations. 

The European Investment Fund (EIF) is the subsidiary of the EIB Group specialised in providing guarantees and equity to improve access to finance for small and medium size businesses and startups across Europe. Acting as an anchor investor, through its extensive network of partnering banks and investment funds, the EIF mobilises private investment and nurtures the ecosystem of venture capital funds to support innovative European entrepreneurs. 

In 2023, the EIF together with six member states (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) launched the European Tech Champions Initiative, a fund of funds to scale-up innovative startups. This initiative has already enabled the creation of 12 European venture capital mega-funds and scaled up 38 companies, including 11 unicorns (with more than €1 billion in capital). 

Photos of the EIB Group’s spokespeople and headquarters, logo files and video B-roll for media use are available here.   

EIB Global

EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm devoted to increasing the impact of international win-win partnerships and development finance, and a key partner of Team Europe and the Global Gateway strategy. EIB Global brings the EIB Group closer to people, companies and institutions through its offices across the world.