The International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) of the United States of America (USA) and the Three Seas Initiative (TJI) Investment Fund have reached an agreement, which will be the basis of the agreement by which the United States undertakes to provide funding to the fund up to 300 million USD, DFC representatives informed LETA agency.
The funding is intended to support investments in energy and infrastructure that improve energy security, promote energy diversification and improve connectivity in the three seas region.
DFC is a US development finance institution with an investment portfolio of more than $37 billion invested in various regions of the world, with an emphasis on less developed countries. DFC works with investors to deploy capital across sectors, including critical infrastructure.
It is expected that the DFC funding could be concluded within this year.
DFC CEO Scott Nathan explains that the financial corporation’s investment will promote energy security and counter Russian aggression in Europe. In his opinion, the cooperation between DFC and TJI will promote inclusive economic growth and development in the entire region.
In a conversation with the LETA agency, Nathan points out that how much of this funding will go to specific TJI member states is under the management of the initiative, so it is currently not possible to determine, for example, how much funding Latvia could also receive. Likewise, Nathan did not rule out the possibility of further funding for TJI, however, he did not name a specific amount or terms in which the funding could be provided at the moment.
At the same time, the head of DFC states that the corporation would also be ready to support investments specifically in the Baltic region, separately from TJI, explaining that DFC is ready to provide assistance to support energy or energy infrastructure projects. Specific industries are subject to restrictions imposed by the DFC on the part of the US Congress.
Nathan emphasizes that DFC mainly provides aid to less developed countries, however, investments are also possible in regions such as Latvia, which have a high level of income.
He notes that events such as the TJI summit, which is taking place in Riga this year, are very important for creating opportunities on the part of the DFC. “It’s a business, you need that kind of networking to find opportunities,” explains the DFC CEO.
As reported, today and tomorrow the TJI summit and Business Forum will be held in Riga, which will gather the leaders of 12 countries.
TJI members are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The summit and business forum are also attended by strategic partners of the initiative, as well as representatives of the regional and international business and investment sector. The event will look for new ways of development and cooperation for the growth of the region’s economy and attraction of investments.
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