Unpacking Global Gateway possibilities for the Dutch Agri-Food Sector with Leonard Mizzi (EU DG-INTPA)

What is Global Gateway?

The Global Gateway is the EU’s international investment strategy (launched in 2021) to mobilise €300 billion by 2027 for sustainable infrastructure and partnerships worldwide. It focuses on:

• Digital

• Climate & Energy

• Education & research

• Transport

• Health

It is implemented through a Team Europe approach: combining the efforts of the European Commission, Member States, development banks, and the private sector.

A Global Gateway project usually starts with early alignment between EU Delegations, partner countries, and a coalition of stakeholders (public, private, and civil society) around shared priorities. Financial actors like Invest International help structure blended finance and scale pilot concepts into bankable investments. For more information, check the Global Gateway homepage and its Q&A.

For whom is the Global Gateway?

During the session, Mizzi underscored the importance of working with a 360 degree-approach, combining hard and soft infrastructure to tackle both the supply side (production) and demand side (needs) of sustainable development. The focus on soft infrastructure for instance means strengthening the enabling environment and regulatory frameworks or enhancing skills and education. Because of this approach, private sector actors are therefore actively encouraged to form strategic multistakeholder partnerships and consortia.

Within the general priority areas of the Global Gateway strategy, opportunities exist for the engagement of the agriculture and food sectors. As a frontrunner on agricultural innovation and one of the key EU member states when it comes to prioritising international food security and sustainable agriculture, the Netherlands is a key partner in exploring the opportunities to integrate food systems in Global Gateway.

However, building this bridge between food systems and Global Gateway is not straightforward. It requires creativity, coordinated effort, and long-term commitment. Mizzi emphasized two promising directions for better alignment: bundling member states’ efforts on agrifood with environmental and social goals, and aligning this with a country’s own policies and goals (i.e. CAADP, national food system pathway).

The Netherlands and Global Gateway

The Netherlands is already actively involved in Global Gateway projects focusing on energy and agro-logistics, demonstrating that this is not the starting point, but rather a moment to expand and deepen collaboration (see downloads):

• Green Hydrogen Namibia – Dutch investment in green hydrogen and steel production in Namibia, with €40 million committed and partnerships with Port of Rotterdam, Gasunie, and local authorities.

• Lobito Corridor – Development of a logistics hub in Angola to connect agriculture to markets across the region, promoting agro-processing and SME integration.

• Northern Corridor – Investments in cold chain infrastructure and digital trade to shift East African horticulture exports from air to sea freight, with climate and trade benefits.

These examples show concrete precedents for future collaboration in food systems with the EU. Check this website for further information on Global Gateway flagship projects.

Exploring collaboration with the Global Gateway

In the session, experts from the seed, horticulture and dairy sector pitched a taste of what The Netherlands have to offer, and how they envision collaborating with the EU in the Global Gateway strategy.

• SeedNL called for stable, long-term, jointly funded collaboration on integrated seed sector development with the EU - as for instance currently is executed in Ethiopia with EU delegated cooperation - based on local needs.

• Dutch Greenhouse Delta advocated for controlled-environment agriculture as a systems approach to food security, calling for cross-sectoral (also energy and logistics) roadmap-based collaboration between sectors with African and EU actors.

• Invest International presented their role in offering finance solutions to scale the - currently - three Global Gateway projects for food and logistics (see downloads).

• An emerging Dutch Dairy Partnership was introduced with the aim of working on a more sustainable dairy sector in East Africa. Collaboration in Global Gateway was regarded as a chance to scale impact.

How to engage the Global Gateway?

A new avenue for businesses to engage in the Global Gateway is through Global Gateway Investment Hub. This was launched earlier in October 2025 in order to overcome fragmentation and complexity in EU financing. It serves as a central platform to connect private sector actors with relevant EU institutions, funding instruments (find an overview here), and blended finance solutions.

The enclosed presentation "Global Gateway Investment Hub Summary" outlines the process of a proposal to the Global Gateway Investment Hub, See this link for more information on how to submit an investment proposal and on the types of support the EU offers (also non-financial). To be eligible for the Investment Hub, it is required that a company submits a proposal, contributes its own funding, and brings in funding or support from a Member State organisation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ department for sustainable economic development (DDE) will support private sector initiatives that currently work with Invest International, by jointly exploring how existing proposals can be linked to funding instruments through the Investment Hub. Interested private sector initiatives are therefore advised to initiate the exploration of collaborations with the EU through Invest International. For further information and questions about collaborative EU programmes in low- and middle income countries, please keep track of this RVO webpage - it is planned to be updated soon.

Whereas the Global Gateway strategy might potentially offer new opportunities for large scale businesses, other actors are advised to continue working through the existing Team Europe Delegated Cooperation (EUDC) opportunities. The MoFA’s department of Inclusive Green Growth (IGG) will continue its efforts to strengthen collaboration of food systems with other member states and engage private sector, civil society and knowledge institutes into EUDC partnership opportunities.

The session established new connections and identified opportunities for future collaboration, which are followed up with the relevant sectors and organisations. NFP will share relevant Dutch expertise and programmes with DG-INTPA, keep the Dutch network up to date about developments and opportunities for integration of food systems in Global Gateway and will actively facilitate connections. Dutch stakeholders are encouraged to reach out for questions and ideas. Keep an eye on the next EU financial framework and new Commission in 2026, which will likely shape future priorities.