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Welcome to the first edition in a series of updates that the GI Hub will provide in advance of each G20 Infrastructure Working Group (IWG) meeting. As committed to in the GI Hub’s Strategic Plan 2019-22, and in response to requests made by members of the IWG, these updates will provide both a description of activities undertaken since the last IWG meeting and a preview of upcoming initiatives. For each of the GI Hub products discussed in the update, we will identify the relationship between the product and the workstreams in the IWG Terms of Reference. We hope that you will find these updates informative and, of course, we welcome any questions or feedback.

In Buenos Aires on 23 March, the G20 Finance Ministers announced that infrastructure would remain a priority for at least the next three years—a very welcome announcement for those in the private sector who have long called for greater global coordination of efforts in this area.

Over the last decade, much has been written about globalisation and how we’re more connected than ever before. In the infrastructure world, we think of connectivity as the “linkages of communities, economies and nations through transport, communications, energy, and water networks across a number of countries” .

An industry event about the need to attract private capital and develop infrastructure as a standalone asset class is nothing new. However, the G20 Infrastructure Financing Seminar that took place in London last week was unique in that it had the most wide-ranging and intense interactions between governments and the private sector that I have seen to-date.

Over the past few decades, there has been substantial change in living standards globally. Keeping pace with profound economic and demographic changes will require a significant increase in infrastructure investment.

While 2017 was an eventful year for the Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub), 2018 is shaping up to be even busier.