14. Establishing a new forum to bridge the infrastructure gap
14. Establishing a new forum to bridge the infrastructure gap. Investing in sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including transport, energy, water and sanitation for all, is a pre-requisite for achieving many of our goals.
To bridge the global infrastructure gap, including the $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion annual gap in developing countries, we will facilitate development of sustainable, accessible and resilient quality infrastructure in developing countries through enhanced financial and technical support.
We welcome the launch of new infrastructure initiatives aimed at bridging these gaps, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Global Infrastructure Hub, the New Development Bank, the Asia Pacific Project Preparation Facility, the World Bank Group’s Global Infrastructure Facility and the Africa Infrastructure Fund, as well as the increase in the capital of the Inter-American Investment Corporation.
As a key pillar to meet the sustainable development goals, we call for the establishment of a global infrastructure forum building on existing multilateral collaboration mechanisms, led by the multilateral development banks.
This forum will meet periodically to improve alignment and coordination among established and new infrastructure initiatives, multilateral and national development banks, United Nations agencies and national institutions, development partners and the private sector.
It will encourage a greater range of voices to be heard, particularly from developing countries, to identify and address infrastructure and capacity gaps in particular in least developed countries, landlocked developing countries, small island developing States and African countries.
It will highlight opportunities for investment and cooperation and work to ensure that investments are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.