Senior officials from the IDB’s Integration and Regional Programs Department concluded a special programming mission to Central America in November that laid the groundwork for accelerated economic recovery and integration in the isthmus.

The mission, led by department manager Nohra Rey de Marulanda and IDB executive director for Central America Edgard Guerra, met with representatives of national governments, regional organizations, private sector and civil society groups and the international donor committee.

Programming missions are conducted periodically by Bank officials to help define the IDB’s three-year project pipeline. This mission enabled officials to define three priority areas for upcoming projects in Central America. These are accelerated economic growth accompanied by deeper regional integration; promoting human development; and supporting environmental sustainability and the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters.

These priorities dovetail with the agenda set by the IDB-led Consultative Group for the Reconstruction and Transformation of Central America, which met in May in Stockholm to formalize pledges of international support for Hurricane Mitch recovery efforts (see IDBAmérica, July-August 1999). The next meeting of the consultative group will be held in Madrid next year.

Support for ISO standards

The IDB’s multilateral investment Fund (MIF) held a conference in November on International Organization for Standardization (ISO) management system standards, certification and accreditation issues for small and medium-sized businesses.

The meeting, held at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C., was cosponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The MIF provides support for Latin American and Caribbean countries to adopt ISO standards.

For more information, visit the MIF Website.