To enhance the effectiveness of development cooperation, we are one of the partners in the Mutual Reliance Initiative (MRI), which sees the Bank join forces with the French Agency for Development (AFD) and Germany’s KfW Development Bank. The initiative allows the promoters of investment projects co-financed by the three development institutions in EU partner countries to benefit from a larger project finance capacity through a structured division of labour. Blending expertise The EIB, KfW and AFD are all significant players in European external action, but they work under different regulations, statutes and legal and governance structures. Under this initiative, most of the tasks during the project cycle are given to one of the three institutions as a lead financier, from appraisal to preparing lending decisions and implementation. The lead financier is appointed because they will have particular expertise in a given economic sector, or a significant presence in the project country. Close cooperation between the lead and the two co-financiers is integral in maximising the full benefits.