Physical trade infrastructure - Austria

In April 2007, the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and seven EU Member States signed an agreement to set up the EU‑Africa Trust Fund for Infrastructure. As a founder member, Austria has made an initial contribution of US$1.38 million. The Trust Fund is a major pillar of the EU‑Africa Strategy as well as the EU‑Africa Partnership for Trade, Regional Integration and Infrastructure. Through a combination of subsidies and loans, it finances trans‑regional large‑scale projects in energy, transport, information technology and water and constitutes a major field of cooperation between Austrian Development Cooper­ation and the new Austrian Development Bank.