Bank’s Top Official Kris Peeters On 4-Day Trip To Delhi
India is a key country of operations for the EIB and hosts the EIB regional representation for South Asia.
LUXEMBERG, July 13 (The CONNECT) – European Investment Bank (EIB) is looking at a one-billion Euro support to nascent Indian green hydrogen ecosystem and renewable energy projects.
EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters will be on a four-day business visit to India later this week to strengthen cooperation with Indian public and private sector partners and discuss EIB support for clean energy investment in the country.
Peeters will confirm the EIB’s interest in supporting the recently approved National Green Hydrogen Mission and will discuss the possible development of a facility of up to €1 billion in support of the nascent Indian green hydrogen ecosystem and renewable energy projects, the bank said in a media release.
He will also highlight the EIB’s interest in boosting India’s renewable energy ambitions by backing renewable energy generation, as well as enabling technologies and infrastructure for energy storage, power transmission and distribution.
“The European Investment Bank, the EU bank, is committed to supporting transformational private and public investment across India, improving access to finance by entrepreneurs and addressing the challenges of a changing climate. India is a key country of operations for the EIB and hosts the EIB regional representation for South Asia. Over the last 30 years, the EIB has supported public and private sector investment in the country. My financial and technical colleagues and I look forward to discussing how to strengthen economic resilience to existing and new challenges and enhance the impact of future EIB engagement in India,” said Peeters.
Peeters will meet Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of Power, Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to the Prime Minister, and banking leaders at the G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue. The aim is to confirm the EIB’s commitment to future investment under the EU-India Connectivity Partnership, in support of the European Green Deal and the EU Global Gateway strategy, and India’s own ambitious agenda on climate, renewable energy, connectivity and sustainable finance, in particular.
The EIB delegation will also meet Sushil Kumar, Managing Director of Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRCL), to discuss future projects and to visit the Agra Metro project backed by a €250 million EIB loan.
The Bank’s support for transport in India includes the financing of metro investment in Agra, Bangalore, Bhopal, Kanpur and Lucknow, with a total of €2.45 billion committed since 2016. This makes India the largest beneficiary of EIB transport financing outside Europe.
The EIB is seeking to build on its considerable expertise in the urban mobility sector and in renewable energy by continuing to support these sectors, and is exploring other areas of strategic importance for India and the European Union.
On Sunday July 16, Peeters will attend the G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue (IID), an official G20 event organised during the third meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Gandhinagar.
He will join a panel on “Catalysing sustainable finance for cities of tomorrow,” as a representative of the EIB, which heads the D20 Long-Term Investors Club.
