Transcript
PARTNER IN PROGRESS
1959 marked the world’s opening of the first institution to advocate for regional development: The Inter American Development Bank.
Since then, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have significantly increased their health, education and life expectancy rates.
However, many economic and social challenges lie ahead, and the Bank’s mission today is more important than ever.
The IDB continues to be the main source of multilateral financing for the development of the region. Since 1961, it has granted more than 140 billion dollars in loans. Today, the bank works in four priority areas: social programs, modernization, competitiveness and regional integration.
The Board of Governors, the highest political entity within the IDB counts among its members, finance ministers and central bank presidents from its 47-member countries, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as 16 from Europe, the United States, Canada, Japan, Israel and the Republic of Korea.
Each year in late March or early April, the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Inter-American Investment Corporation meet in one of the Bank's member countries.
This official gathering is a forum for discussions among the governors of the IADB and the IIC, most of whom are finance ministers of the regional and non-regional member countries, central bank presidents, and advisors.
The 2006 Annual Meeting will take place in Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, from April 3rd through 5th, and as in previous occasions, the Bank and the host country are sponsoring a series of seminars on topics of interest to participants.
At the Belo Horizonte meeting, the seminars will attract experts from throughout the world to deal with subjects such as the region’s needs in infrastructure investments, innovation and competitiveness, the Bank’s strategy to fight poverty, new financial instruments and discussions about the future of the region’s development.
Beyond the Bank, the IDB Group encompasses the Inter American Investment Corporation as well as the Multilateral Investment Fund; both focused on the development of the private sector.
The IDB’s main focus continues to be social development, to which it devotes one half of its operations and 40 percent of its resources. In fact, economic reforms supported by the bank have helped borrowing countries to control inflation, stimulate private investment and increase economic growth.
The IDB faithfully follows its commitment to transparency, democracy and regional integration. But it also seeks to be more active as a major development agent in a region filled with extensive natural resources and great human potential.
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