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Habitat III: Multilateral Development Banks from around the world collaborate to support ‘New Urban Agenda’

QUITO, Ecuador – In support of the ‘New Urban Agenda’ adopted this week during the UN-sponsored global Habitat III conference, eight Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are putting the Agenda’s words into action by issuing a “Joint Statement” expressing their commitment to promote equitable, sustainable, and productive urbanization and urban communities.

On the occasion of the ‘The New Urban Agenda and the role of the Multilateral Development Banks’ session at Habitat III, the eight MDBs — the Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB), and the World Bank — presented their plans to working “together to ensure that the programs we support promote a model of urban development that encourages equitable, sustainable, inclusive and productive settlements, including small rural communities, villages, market towns, intermediate cities, and metropolises.”

“This joint statement reflects the Multilateral Development Banks’ commitment with the New Urban Agenda, said Juan Pablo Bonilla, IDB Manager of the Climate Change and Sustainable Development Sector. In the next 15 years, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), we have the challenge of contributing collectively to building sustainable, inclusive and competitive cities, where citizens are at the center of the planning process. For the IDB Group, this goes beyond public-private financing, and encompasses knowledge and best-practice sharing among the cities of our region and in other regions of the world.”

In line with their respective institutional mandates and governance structures, the organizations committed to foster coordination between urban, regional and national development plans, strengthening planning institutions capabilities, and access to finance at all levels of government and in the private sector.

In their Joint Statement, guided by their institutional mandates and their member countries’ own development goals, they committed to supporting the implementation of the UN ‘New Urban Agenda’ through direct financing, catalyzing other resources, as well as domestic resource mobilization. As such, they are determined to continue working to strengthen domestic financial markets, deepen financial inclusion, and attracting sources of co-financing to enable innovative and concessional funding to address the challenges of the poor and most vulnerable urban residents

For more details, please see the full Joint Statement here.

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The Inter-American Development Bank is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. Besides loans, grants and guarantees, the IDB conducts cutting-edge research to offer innovative and sustainable solutions to our region’s most pressing challenges. Founded in 1959 to help accelerate progress in its developing member countries, the IDB continues to work every day to improve lives.

    

 

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