(Finance) – It was signed a memorandum of understanding today aimed at promoting the cooperation for development between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. The objective is to establish the reference framework for technical cooperation and joint action between the Parties in the areas of financing economic and social development in developing countries and for the exchange of information and technical expertise.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on behalf of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development by the Acting Director General, Waleed Sh. Al-Baharand on behalf of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti by the Chief Executive Officer, Dario Scannapiecoon the sidelines of the meeting between His Excellency the Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-SabahMinister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Honorable Antonio TajaniVice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic.
The memorandum of understanding will have a duration of three years, subject to renewal, and establishes the reference framework for cooperation between the Parties on specific activities in line with their respective mandates and operational policies, with particular attention to developing countries in which both Parties have active programs. The Parties will identify ways in which possible collaboration could contribute to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to strengthening global development efforts.
The Key areas of cooperation envisaged in the MoU include: 1) the exchange of information and the promotion of knowledge sharing to benefit on the one hand from the mutual experience, resources and expertise of both Parties (including information related to the development of potential projects, for joint support in the form of funding and/or information on technical assistance operations or programs related to poverty eradication and the promotion of sustainable development) and on the other hand, economic, financial and trade information on Joint Partner Countries or on specific sectors or projects in such countries; 2) the timely identification of projects that can benefit from the support of both Parties in the form of financing and/or technical assistance in accordance with the policies and operating methods of each Party; 3) periodic consultations for the coordination of operations, activities and technical assistance in the common Partner Countries, strictly taking into account the mandate and objectives, strategies, operating methods, policies and guidelines of each Party; 4) enhanced cooperation in priority sectors for each of the two Parties will include, in particular, agriculture and food security, water supply and sanitation, education and health, clean energy and sustainable infrastructure.
KFAED has already initiated similar forms of collaboration with other leading European development finance institutions, such as the Agence Française De Développement (AFD) and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).