News Highlights
IDB Annual Meeting closes with call to extend economic gains to the region’s poor and disadvantaged
President Moreno encouraged by governor’s clear mandate for change
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil - The 47th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank concluded today with a call for Latin America and the Caribbean to close the gap between the region’s improved economic performance during recent years and the persisting problems of poverty and inequality.
The IDB Annual Meeting is the world’s premier forum on the development of Latin America and the Caribbean. It was attended by more than 10,000 participants, a record number. Among them were official delegates and special guests from the private sector, civil society and international organizations, and members of the press.
During three days of sessions, the Bank’s 47 governors—for the most part finance ministers, presidents of central banks and ministers of international cooperation of their countries--made presentations on developments in the world economy and how they are affecting the development of Latin American and Caribbean economies. The governors particularly urged support for strengthening the region’s private sector, creating more effective public institutions, building infrastructure, and making gains in the fight against poverty and inequality in the region.
Many governors praised the Bank’s increased emphasis on the private sector, and urged that the institution achieve a closer coordination among its different units operating in this area. Several urged that the Bank’s should ensure that its increasing role in private sector development should be linked to the goal of poverty reduction.
At the close of the meeting, the governors approved an extension of a provision that the Bank can devote up to 10 percent of its portfolio to financing for private sector projects in all areas, including public and private, as well as at the subnational level. Previously the Bank’s private sector financing was restricted to projects in infrastructure, development of capital markets and promotion of foreign trade.
Also during the course of the meeting a decision was made to request that the Committee of the Board of Governors study the Bank’s participation in the Multilateral Debt Reduction Initiative that would be developed in accordance with the subjects defined by the Ad Hoc Committee of the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.
Several governors also called on the IDB to increase its ability to respond quickly to new developments in the region. Other governors praised the Bank’s adoption of a country-focused approach, in which increased responsibilities would be delegated to the IDB’s country offices.
“I am leaving [the meeting] with a clear mandate and confidence in the region’s future,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno in his closing statement. He said he was “optimistic in the impact our efforts can have to support your work, to contribute to a better future for our people.”
He particularly thanked the Governors for the support they have provided to the Bank’s Vision Statement. “This mandate constitutes a road map for the next five years that will enable us to define concrete goals and achieve gradual results,” he said.
“I came [to Belo Horizonte] to listen,” he continued, “and I have found that the contributions you have made will be very valuable for giving direction to my leadership. My aim is to lead an open-door administration, looking and listening to all of the member countries.”
Moreno also expressed his satisfaction at the increased participation of women in the meeting, and particularly among the Bank’s governors.
Speaking on behalf of the region’s youth, Claudio Stacheira of Brazil declared that the region’s young people are taking a “proactive role in building democracy in our countries, as agents of social, cultural, economic and political change.” During the meeting an announcement was made of the creation of a Youth Fund with the support of the Microsoft Corporation.
The Annual Meeting was held in the stunningly modern Expominas convention center; which was completed just in time for the IDB meeting. With a total area of 72,000 square meters, it is the third largest conference center in Latin America.
Seminars focused on challenges to the region
The IDB meeting featured more than 14 seminars that brought together high-level policy makers and academic experts to discuss how the region must meet head-on the challenges of a rapidly evolving global system of trade and finance. In many of the seminars, participants emphasized the region’s lagging performance compared to that of other emerging regions.
In particular, they called for increased investment in infrastructure to enable Latin America to compete with producers in both the industrialized countries and the nations of Asia. They also emphasized the need for efficient and transparent governmental institutions capable of creating an environment favorable to business development and innovation.
Speakers included two Nobel Prize winners who participated in a seminar on the impact of changes in international capital markets and global commerce in the region. Douglas North, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in economics, said that the region must build a structure of incentives to create a society in which policies and institutions foster real competition. Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in economic, called for changes in the international financial architecture to enable national governments to take a more active role.
Many speakers also emphasized the continued problems of poverty and inequality in the region. In the meeting’s inaugural session Bolivian President Evo Morales said that his country’s indigenous majority must benefit from the nation’s natural resources. Honduran President José Manuel Zelaya said that the past three years of 5 percent growth have not been sufficient to close the poverty gap.
During the meeting, Naokazu Takemoto, Japan's senior vice-minister of finance, announced that his government will contribute US$ 5 million to IDB’s Disaster Prevention Fund.
Also present at the meeting was Enrique V. Iglesias, former IDB president, who was honored at a dinner held for the Bank governors. IDB President Moreno presented the book “Al servicio de algo más que un banco (At the service of something more than a bank),” published by the Bank, that presents the achievements of the institution under Iglesias’ leadership (1988-2005).
Loan signings
The Annual Meeting was also the venue for the signing of contracts for IDB loans and technical cooperation operations. They included a operation for Ecuador to create an early warning system for volcanic eruptions, a grant to help improve business management for some 200 microentrepreneurs in Colombia’s city of Cartagena, and program to improve secondary roads in Peru to help advance the country’s process of decentralization.
In a move to combat the greenhouse gases, the IDB event was designed as the first carbon neutral meeting held by a multilateral financial institution. The Bank will purchase 11,000 verified emission reductions through a Brazilian nongovernmental organization, which are expected to offset the carbon emissions represented by the travel and accommodations of the meeting participants. The funds raised will finance a project to substitute the use of fossil fuels with biodiesel in a rural community in Brazil’s state of Tocantins.
The Board of Governors is the IDB’s top policymaking body. Its members include finance and economy ministers, central bank presidents and other senior government officials. The governors represent the IDB’s 47 member countries, which include 28 in the Western Hemisphere, 16 in Europe, as well as Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
The 2007 Annual Meeting will be held in Guatemala City, Guatemala.
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