Achieving Greater Scale and Impact for IDB Initiatives in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic

TELA, Honduras - The city of Tela, Honduras, hosted the 38th Meeting of Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) governors from the countries of Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic, including finance and economy ministers from the region. The February 10 gathering is in the lead-up to the Annual Meetings of the IDB and of IDB Invest, which will take place on March 26-30 in Chile. 

IDB President Ilan Goldfajn led the sessions, with the participation of senior management and experts, to review the regional context, key challenges and potential policy responses. Read his opening remarks here (in Spanish).

Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic proved resilient in 2024, solidifying their post-pandemic recovery and outperforming the average growth of Latin America and the Caribbean. This performance has created a significant opportunity to bolster regional integration and competitiveness. 

Against this backdrop, the meeting updated attendees on the progress of América en el Centro, a regional program created at the governors' request. The program has three pillars:

• Productivity and economic integration
• Climate adaptation and resilience
• Social development for young people 

Under the adaptation and resilience pillar, the participants also discussed a comprehensive package to improve disaster-risk management in the region.

Additionally, the IDB executive team presented progress on the IDBImpact+ agenda, which is based on reforms to expand the impact and scale of the Bank's work to reduce poverty, combat climate change and promote sustainable growth, including by increasing the organization’s financing capacity. The IDB is launching various reforms and initiatives within this effort, 11 of which will be presented at the Annual Meetings.

In his closing remarks in Tela, President Goldfajn said: "The IDB has been a staunch partner for Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic for decades, supporting their resilience and growth. By consulting with finance ministers, we have gained insight into how initiatives like América en el Centro can boost growth and regional integration and, more broadly, how our IDBImpact+ reforms can expand the scope and impact of our work, as we strengthen our financing capacity to reduce poverty, address climate change, and promote sustainable development." 

Impact on the Region's Development 

In Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the work of the IDB, IDB Invest and IDB Lab, the bank's innovation and venture-capital laboratory, has benefited millions of people in recent years, including:

• 2.3 million students with improved early childhood development, schooling and quality education programs
• More than 15 million people with improved health and nutrition services 
• 3.2 million households with better access to water and sanitation.

More details about these results are available here. 

In 2024, IDB Invest supported investments and mobilized private resources in areas including trade and supply-chain finance, resilient infrastructure, diversified energy, digital connectivity, and sustainable tourism. IDB Invest also issued a thematic bond to finance social projects and supported production systems and employment.

Last year, IDB Lab focused on financial inclusion for vulnerable groups; adoption of new technologies and digitalization of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises; increased productivity through technology companies; and activating new markets, such as the "silver economy" for the region's seniors.