News Releases

Mar 20, 2007

IDB Annual Meeting closes with blueprint for expanding opportunities to region’s underserved majority

Events and agreements strengthen commitment to poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean

GUATEMALA-The Inter-American Development Bank’s central mission of extending the benefits of economic growth to Latin America’s low-income majority was affirmed during the 48^th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors, which today concluded in this Central American capital.

Many IDB governors echoed President Luis Alberto Moreno’s call for Latin America and the Caribbean to enter a contract to expand opportunities for progress to the poor. He and many others noted how fitting it was hold this meeting in the heart of the ancestral lands of the Maya, whose sacred book, the Popol Vuh, taught that society must “let no one be left behind.”

In a major development in this regard, the IDB announced the approval of $4.4 billion in debt relief for Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua. According to Moreno, these countries will be able to free up resources to invest in education, health and other social services their citizens need to overcome poverty.

Three seminars held prior to the governors’ meeting examined these same themes of expanding opportunities for low-income groups. In “Private Initiative for Public Welfare,” participants discussed how the public sector can create a climate in which the private sector can marshal the investment and technological innovation that can translate into more progress for the poor.

In the seminar, Hernando De Soto, president of Peru’s Institute for Liberty and Democracy, urged policy makers to solve problems at the micro level, such as providing property titles, increasing access to limited liability for small businesses and access to capital markets. De Soto and Moreno signed a statement of principle to put some of these ideas into action in a new two-year program in five countries.

In the seminar “Social Inclusion: the Road Ahead,” Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu called for the establishment of a multicultural state and a new fiscal pact to reduce inequality in her country, Guatemala.

The “Inter-American Business Forum” was organized to promote dialogue and partnerships with businesses for development to help reduce economic and social disparities.

The IDB has launched a new initiative, “Opportunities for the Majority,” that focuses on such key areas as access to financial services, housing and basic infrastructure.

The Bank also reported that remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean will top US$100 billion a year by 2010. According Donald Terry, manager of the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund, the challenge for the countries and for the IDB is to find ways for this money to have a greater development impact for migrants who send the money, the families that receive it, and their communities.

Meeting participants also took a strategic look at the risks and opportunities in a future of diminishing fossil fuels and greater global warming. Moreno pledged the Bank’s support to countries with the potential to produce biofuels such as ethanol. In a seminar sponsored by the German government, he cited examples of solar and wind power projects in Mexico and Brazil that will serve as models for future initiatives.

In another major development, the IDB and the People’s Republic of China signed a memorandum of understanding that provides a framework of possible admission of China as a member of the Bank.

In an example of intra-regional cooperation, Chile and the IDB signed an agreement to establish a fund to support technological innovation in Central America and the Dominican Republic. In another agreement, the IDB enlisted six new banks to its Regional Trade Finance Facilitation Program. The move will add $100 million in trade guarantee lines to finance imports and exports in the countries of the region.

Over 6,000 people attended the event. The prime minister of Belize and the heads of state of Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras participated in the meeting. 

In a series of activities to highlight the role of youth in development, the IDB organized a volunteer event in a low-income neighborhood in Guatemala City in which participants refurbished a school and other community facilities. The IDB and the Fundación América Latina en Acción Solidaria signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out joint projects to raise awareness of the role of children and youth in development in the region.

In another youth-related agreement, the IDB and Microsoft pledged to establish a $1 million fund to expand information technology skills and economic opportunities for disadvantaged youth in the region.

Guatemala City was also the venue for the annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, a member of the IDB Group that supports small and medium-size businesses. The IIC reported its best financial results since its creation in 1986, including a 39 percent increase in the value of its portfolio of operations in 2006, to US$939.9 million. Income from all sources totaled US$71.9 million. Net income was US$39.4 million.

The 2008 Annual Meeting will be held in the United States.

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