A Luxembourg perspective on the Global Gateway

The 2025 edition of the Assises de la Coopération held in Luxembourg on 7 and 8 May, discussed development aid in a world of poly-crisis.

The Global Gateway is the European answer. It bundles resources using a Team Europe approach to finance key infrastructures and related soft components. 

In a panel featuring Fiona Ramsey (European Commission), Sonia Andrade (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cabo Verde), Javier Garcia (Vice-President of CONCORD, the European Confederation of NGOs) moderated by Karim Karaki (ECDPM), Pascal Fabing, our private sector and innovation expert, insisted on the importance of making the Global Gateway accessible to vulnerable people. 

He could first present a successful contribution of Luxembourg Cooperation to the Global Gateway, with the example of a pumped storage facility in Cabo Verde, a key component towards Cabo Verde's commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2040. 

Luxembourg Cooperation financed studies (feasibility, environmental impact, etc) through projects implemented by LuxDev, leading to the mobilisation of 150MEUR from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission.

Pascal stressed the importance of also opening opportunities to local changemakers. The new private sector partnership instrument incentivises local initiatives that can bring about positive changes towards the Sustainable Development Goals. These initiatives often require capital when scaling. 

End of 2023,  more than 85% of the global sustainable funds were under management in Europe. Bridging the gap between local initiatives and global sustainable funds, addressing the gap that small and medium-sized companies face when growing (the "missing middle"), is not an easy game, but an opportunity for Europe.

The Assises de la Coopération were closed with a mild optimism. Despite drastic reductions in development aid by other donors and increasing challenges, Luxembourg is committed to punching above its weight. Multistakeholder partnerships, as described in the LuxDev's Vision 2030, are becoming even more important in this context.