LatinNews Daily - 16 June 2023

* The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a declaration of intent with Mexico’s government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to reinforce their strategic partnership on financing sustainable development in the country. In the declaration, signed by Mexico’s undersecretary for foreign affairs Carmen Moreno Toscano and EIB head of division for the public sector in Latin America and the Caribbean Kristin Lang, the parties expressed their interest in collaborating on projects which produce social, economic and environmental benefits for the Mexican people. An EIB press release cites as examples, Plan Sonora, a solar energy project, and projects in line with the interests of institutions such as the state-run electricity firm (CFE), and the national water commission (Conagua), among others. According to the same statement, since it started working in Mexico in 1997, the EIB, the world’s largest multilateral public bank, has provided over €884m (US$967m) to finance investments with the aim of “improving the quality of life of the Mexican people”. The announcement of the declaration of intent came during a visit to Mexico by Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch.