The Inter-American Development Bank will provide extensive broadcast news coverage of its 41st Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors in New Orleans, Louisiana, from March 23 to March 29.

The service will include a live webcast of the inaugural session on March 27 beginning at 1530gmt. In addition, five minutes of video highlights will be available each day at www.iadb.org/video from March 26 to March 29.

All material will be archived on the site for one month.

Finance ministers, central bank presidents, and numerous other national dignitaries, including heads of state, are expected to attend the Annual Meeting to discuss ways to enhance the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Bank will make available to broadcast organizations exclusive interviews with national leaders and with IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias, as well as broadcast news coverage of the events of the Annual Meeting itself, including the inaugural session, loan signing ceremonies, daily press briefings and summary news reports on seminars. Video highlights will be posted on the Internet.

The seminars will examine such timely topics as information technology, confronting natural disasters, preparing for a rapidly changing world financial landscape, supporting rural development and poverty reduction, dealing with climate change, and financing small and medium-size enterprises.

In addition, a "Youth Summit" will be held in which 64 youth delegates from the Americas and Asia will meet and participate in a seminar on "Building Human and Social Capital: The Strategic Importance of Investing in Youth Development and Participation."

Satellite transmissions will be available on PanAmSat for Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe and domestic satellites for North American broadcasters (see coordinates below).

The inaugural session will be webcast live at www.iadb.org/video in RealVideo on Monday, March 27, 1530gmt. Daily video highlights of the meeting will also be available on the IDB website beginning March 26.