On October 25, 2024, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) held a high-level in-person meeting in Washington, D.C., with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, Export Finance Australia (EFA), Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of India, and Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) to further strengthen cooperation among Japan, Australia, India, and the U.S. (the Quad) in the Indo-Pacific region.
DFC is the U.S. government’s development finance institution, which mobilizes and facilitates the investment of private capital for the economic and social development of emerging market countries by offering financing, political risk insurance, and other financial tools for development projects. DFAT is a department of the Australian Government that works with international partners and other countries to tackle global challenges, increase trade and investment opportunities, protect international rules, and keep the region stable. EFA is the Australian government’s official export credit agency, which supports Australian export trade and overseas infrastructure development that deliver benefits to Australia. The MEA is responsible for managing India’s foreign relations, including its diplomatic policies, and India Exim Bank is an export credit agency under the Indian government, established to promote trade and overseas investments by Indian companies.
It is the second meeting of the development finance institutions of the Quad countries, following the first one held in Tokyo in May 2022. The meeting was mentioned in the joint statement (The Wilmington Declaration) released during the Quad Leaders’ Meeting in September 2024. During the meeting, participants engaged in a wide-ranging exchange of views on the potential for support and collaboration among the institutions in the fields of healthcare, infrastructure, and energy in the Indo-Pacific region. In addition, they agreed to continue discussions among the four countries’ institutions, with financial collaboration in mind.
As Japan’s policy-based financial institution, JBIC will continue to contribute toward the further development of economic relations with related countries to tackle global issues by collaborating closely with such overseas governments and development finance institutions.