By Ayomide Otitoju
The Heads of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) Group, chaired in 2025 by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), convened on Friday to assess progress on joint initiatives and outline key priorities for future collaboration.
During the meeting, the Heads commended the deepened cooperation achieved under the CEB’s leadership, building on the momentum established by the 2024 MDBs’ Viewpoint Note. They highlighted significant milestones since their previous gathering in Paris on June 28, 2025, reaffirming their shared commitment to working as a unified system to deliver greater impact and to report annually on collective results and priorities.
Presentation of a Joint Report to the G20: The MDBs delivered a comprehensive report on implementing the G20 Roadmap toward Better, Bigger, and More Effective MDBs, detailing progress in boosting lending capacity, mobilizing private capital, enhancing collaboration, and strengthening impact measurement.
Enhanced Financial Transparency: The Global Risk and Finance Forum (GRaFF) released the first MDB Comparison Report, improving comparability of financial positions and demonstrating how shareholder capital is leveraged for development.
Engagement with Credit Rating Agencies: MDBs deepened engagement with rating agencies through a GRaFF-prepared note explaining their unique financial models, risk management systems, and high asset quality.
Focus on Water Security: The inaugural Joint Annual MDB Water Security Financing Report was published and launched at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla, underscoring collective efforts to advance water resilience.
Strengthening Social Infrastructure: A joint report titled “Social Infrastructure in Focus: The Role of Multilateral Development Banks” showcased how MDBs are driving investments in health, education, housing, and water — key sectors for boosting productivity, job creation, and societal resilience.
The Group also reviewed ongoing initiatives, including mobilizing additional private capital through the Global Emerging Markets Risk Database (GEMs), expanding originate-to-share models, promoting financial innovation, and scaling regional programs such as Mission 300. In preparation for COP30, set to take place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, MDBs reiterated their readiness to support partner countries in achieving climate and development goals.
Following the meeting, MDB Heads held discussions with Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), focusing on developments in civil nuclear energy.
The Chairmanship of the Heads of MDBs Group will transition from the Council of Europe Development Bank to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in December. The Heads expressed appreciation to CEB Governor Carlo Monticelli for his leadership and commitment throughout his tenure.
