The Heads of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) convened in Paris on June 28, 2025, under the auspices of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), which chairs the Heads of MDBs Group. The meeting aimed to advance joint efforts in addressing development priorities.
In a context of increasing global uncertainty, the Heads emphasized their commitment to working collaboratively to enhance impact and scale. This aligns with their Viewpoint Note and the G20 Roadmap towards Better, Bigger, and More Effective MDBs. The Roadmap sets out an ambitious vision for reforming MDBs to better tackle regional and global challenges, support job creation, and help countries meet their development goals.
Efforts to improve operational efficiency and coordination among MDBs were acknowledged by the Heads. In 2025 alone, five mutual reliance agreements have been signed to streamline project preparation and implementation across institutions.
Mobilizing private capital remains a priority for MDBs. Recent reports indicate positive trends in mobilization volumes. To sustain this momentum, the Heads reaffirmed their dedication to developing local currency lending and foreign exchange solutions while stressing adequate risk assessment for private sector investment in emerging markets. The contribution of disaggregated statistics on credit risk from the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs) was noted as valuable.
The G20 Independent Review's recommendations on Multilateral Development Banks’ Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF) continue to be implemented by the Heads. Since mid-2024, reforms have increased additional lending capacity by over US$250 billion for projects worldwide over the next decade, reaching a total of more than US$650 billion.
In upcoming weeks, the publication of the Comparison Report by MDBs’ Global Risk and Finance Forum (GRaFF) will provide data on financial positions to enhance understanding of financial models and support balance sheet optimization and private sector mobilization.
Promising initiatives were discussed during the meeting: Mission 300 aims to connect 300 million people in Africa to electricity by 2030; ASEAN Power Grid seeks to boost energy security for Southeast Asia's 670 million people; Digital Transformation in Education aims to connect 3.5 million students and train over 250,000 teachers in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Additionally, MDBs are exploring joint actions to scale up investments in social infrastructure sectors such as health, education, housing, water, and sanitation. Progress through recent cross-MDB consultations was recognized as crucial for enabling jobs and inclusive growth despite ongoing financing challenges.
Ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla from June 30 to July 3, MDBs remain committed to aligning with country-led development strategies promoting jobs and prosperity. They also pledged significant support for global water security by 2030 with plans to launch a “Joint Annual MDB Water Security Financing Report” at FfD4. The importance of COP30 in Belem, Brazil in November was highlighted.
The Paris meeting marks progress toward effective collaboration among MDBs for development priorities with ongoing reforms transitioning from concept to execution.