Statement by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on G7 Collaboration and Build Back Better World

In June, President Biden—alongside G7 Leaders—announced Build Back Better World, a values-driven, high-standard, transparent, and catalytic infrastructure partnership led by major democracies to meet the enormous infrastructure need in the developing world. Since then, the United States and G7 partners have been undertaking efforts individually and jointly to increase the ambition and impact of our partnership. Today’s G7 Leaders statement reflects the scope of our collective efforts and coordination since Leaders met in June and our goals for future infrastructure collaboration. Our work with G7 and like-minded partners to narrow the global infrastructure gap will help tackle the climate crisis, drive job creation, support an inclusive economic recovery, advance gender equity and equality, and make investments in health and health security to recover from the current pandemic and prevent future ones.

The G7 statement today comes after the European Commission’s recent Global Gateway launch and in advance of the United States’ Build Back Better World formal launch early next year. At the direction of the President, we are undertaking a whole-of-government effort to assess how to better use the U.S. Government’s development infrastructure toolkit. This includes direct financing tools of the DFC, USAID, MCC, and USTDA as well as other tools within State, Commerce, Treasury, and the Export-Import Bank, mobilizing private capital, and leveraging international financial institutions and like-minded partners’ capabilities to advance progress across Build Back Better World’s focal areas of climate, digital technology, health and gender through transparent and high-standards infrastructure.

We recognize that robust, meaningful partnerships, long-term focus, and sustained investment will be critical to ensure that Build Back Better World, individual efforts by G7 countries and other friends, and our collective G7 partnership to deliver infrastructure that meets the needs of middle and lower-income countries. In discussing infrastructure needs with developing countries across the world, we’ve heard concerns from government officials, industry, labor and civil society about infrastructure that is low-quality, feeds corruption, leaves vulnerable countries trapped in a cycle of debt, or exacerbates environmental degradation. President Biden believes we can offer a better alternative through transparent, sustainable financing that responds to low- and middle-income countries’ needs and upholds high labor and environmental standards, while allowing societies in low- and middle-income countries to prosper and ensure American firms and American workers compete globally on every aspect of infrastructure. In the years ahead, that’s exactly what Build Back Better World will do.

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