State Dept. Unveils Partnership to Combat Infrastructure Investment Corruption

October 5, 2021 by Victoria Turner
State Dept. Unveils Partnership to Combat Infrastructure Investment Corruption
Dam project. (Wikimedia Commons)

The U.S. Department of State has partnered with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with the goal of reducing the risk of corruption in infrastructure investment by bolstering the ability of stakeholders to implement anti-corruption systems across economies. 

The joint project entitled, “Connecting the Dots: Building Trusted Systems to address Corruption in Infrastructure” sets forth an infrastructure anti-corruption toolbox for organizations to prevent, detect, and respond to infrastructure investment corruption, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated

“Where corruption flourishes, labor rights, human rights, environmental protections are often ignored or violated,” said Blinken during an OECD event in Paris Tuesday on how “build back better” through quality infrastructure that will create jobs, ensure equal access to essential services, tackle climate change with a future zero-emission goal and improve the well-being of citizens across the world. The partnership was unveiled during the event, marking the launch of the project. 

The announcement pointed to an OECD survey where industry leaders said corruption within investments is the main force against infrastructure development in low to middle-income nations, hindering the global economy’s recovery from the pandemic.  

According to one of the survey respondents, corruption has “a significant price, quality, health and safety, environmental and societal impact. On major infrastructure projects, corruption has both a public sector and private sector impact, as large projects (roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, dams etc.) tend to be public sector projects, but are built by private sector contractors.” 

More than 60% of bribery cases in the 2014 OECD Foreign Bribery Report were in infrastructure-related sectors, the announcement stated, and it only seems to have gotten worse throughout the pandemic. 

The toolkit project seeks to back up the Blue Dot Network initiative launched by the U.S., Japan and Australia, which brings together the public, private and civil society participants seeking to build and increase private investment in infrastructure projects. These projects must meet robust international standards – like the OECD’s Anti-Bribery Convention –  through the infrastructure lifecycle.

The Blue Dot Network, in its push towards investment transparency, will audit and certify the infrastructure projects based on the principles the founding countries are establishing with the OECD. 

“To optimize the strength and quality of the recovery and future growth, the world will need to fill a massive quality infrastructure investment gap,” said OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann. A gap, he added, that was crucial for the economic recovery of most nations. 

Infrastructure needs to be built sustainability to address the global climate change crisis, Blinken said,  and resilient in order to withstand the proliferating natural disasters brought on by it. 

“We have to do more to make sure that infrastructure is done right because too often that’s not happening,” he charged, noting that it is oftentimes “less safe and less durable” as it is not held to the highest standard. 

“We are here today because we are championing a different approach,” he said. “Rather than race to the bottom… we want to spark a race to the top for quality, sustainable infrastructure around the world.” 

A+
a-
  • corruption
  • infrastructure
  • State Department
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    International

    July 11, 2025
    by Tom Ramstack
    Brazilian President Says He Will Match Trump’s Highest Tariffs

    WASHINGTON — Brazil’s president is pledging that he will not back down from a trade war with the United States... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Brazil’s president is pledging that he will not back down from a trade war with the United States as the deadline approaches to reach a deal on tariffs. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this week he would match President Donald Trump’s threat... Read More

    Trump's Tariffs May Cast a Pall Over Rubio's First Official Trip to Asia

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may cast a pall over his top diplomat’s first... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Sweeping tariffs set to be imposed by President Donald Trump next month may cast a pall over his top diplomat’s first official trip to Asia this week — just as the U.S. seeks to boost relations with Indo-Pacific nations to counter China’s growing influence in the region.... Read More

    Kremlin Calls Transportation Minister's Death 'Tragic' but Gives no Clues About His Apparent Suicide

    MOSCOW (AP) — The apparent suicide of Russia’s transportation minister brought expressions of shock and sorrow Tuesday from the Kremlin but no... Read More

    MOSCOW (AP) — The apparent suicide of Russia’s transportation minister brought expressions of shock and sorrow Tuesday from the Kremlin but no new clues as to why Roman Starovoit might have taken his own life amid media speculation that he potentially was facing corruption charges. Starovoit, who served... Read More

    With Sanctions Lifted, Syria Looks to Solar Power as More Than a Patchwork Fix to Its Energy Crisis

    DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Abdulrazak al-Jenan swept the dust off his solar panel on his apartment roof overlooking Damascus. Syria's... Read More

    DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Abdulrazak al-Jenan swept the dust off his solar panel on his apartment roof overlooking Damascus. Syria's largest city was mostly pitch-black, the few speckles of light coming from the other households able to afford solar panels, batteries, or private generators. Al-Jenan went... Read More

    Analysis Shows Trump's Tariffs Would Cost US Employers $82.3B

    WASHINGTON (AP) — An analysis finds that a critical group of U.S. employers would face a direct cost of $82.3... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — An analysis finds that a critical group of U.S. employers would face a direct cost of $82.3 billion from President Donald Trump’s current tariff plans, a sum that could be potentially managed through price hikes, layoffs, hiring freezes or lower profit margins. The analysis... Read More

    July 2, 2025
    by Katelyn Sims
    Trump Lifts Sanctions on Syria, Assad Not So Lucky

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday lifted sanctions against Syria, though his executive order stopped well short of easing... Read More

    WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday lifted sanctions against Syria, though his executive order stopped well short of easing pressure on former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In signing the order, Trump said he hoped the move by the U.S. would promote the safety and prosperity... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top