Address by Ilan Goldfajn, President of the Inter-American Development Bank and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, at the Inaugural Session of the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors

As prepared for delivery

Your Excellency, President Santiago Peña of the Republic of Paraguay; 

Mr. Carlos Fernández Valdovinos, Chairperson of the Boards of Governors of the Bank and the Corporation and Governor for the Republic of Paraguay; 

Governors and Heads of Delegation of the Bank and the Corporation; 

Ambassadors and members of the Diplomatic Corps; 

Executive Directors of the Bank and the Corporation; 

Members of IDB Group Senior Management; 

Representatives of international organizations; 

Ladies and gentlemen.

Introduction

Good afternoon to you all. It is a pleasure to be here in Paraguay and to open our Annual Meetings in Asunción—a city that President Peña himself has rightly referred to as the “Mother of Cities,” reflecting its rich history.

We have come together here to discuss development, growth, and integration at a critical time for the region. There could be no better place to do this than Paraguay—and in particular, Asunción.

On behalf of the IDB Group, I would like to thank the Government of Paraguay for its hospitality and for its commitment to making these Annual Meetings a success.

The economic moment in Paraguay

Since our arrival in Asunción, we have felt at home. Paraguay has welcomed us with warmth, but also with a clear message: results come hand-in-hand with stability, discipline, and long-term vision.

Not long ago, the Paraguayan national team’s head coach said: “We are hunters of impossible utopias.” I like those words.

In development, we also pursue goals that seem like distant utopias. Escaping the middle-income trap through years of sustained growth. Eliminating poverty. Fully integrating the region and setting an example for the world. But development consists precisely in that: finding the possible in the impossible. Paraguay is good proof of that.

In recent years, the country earned two investment-grade ratings and is about to achieve a third. This is not a minor shift. It reflects sustained macroeconomic stability, sounder institutions, and credible economic management.

The country risk premium posted one of the most noteworthy reductions in recent years and is now among the five lowest in Latin America. That has reduced the costs of financing and strengthened investor confidence.

This did not happen overnight. It is the result of years of work. Fiscal management improved with a renewed commitment to fiscal rules. The country modernized its economic institutions.

Following this work, results that matter to people have been achieved: the economy grew a notable 6% last year; unemployment closed the year at 3.6%, one of the lowest levels in recent years; and poverty fell to near 20%.

This trend shows what is possible when a country has a clear objective, and the leadership and discipline to pursue economic development.

The IDB Group and Paraguay

Paraguay is a historic partner of the IDB Group.

It was one of the founding members, and today we are celebrating over 66 years of working together.

But we are also here today to discuss the next stage of growth for Paraguay and how the IDB can support it.

I am pleased to announce that we are expanding our IDB Group office here in Asunción.

Today we have a team of 56 and are moving forward with the purchase of adjacent land to plan its future expansion.

This expansion will enable us to work even more closely with the country and to support its next stage of growth.

It also reflects Paraguay’s increasingly relevant role in regional initiatives like the MERCOSUR-European Union agreement and our South Connection program, which promotes physical, digital, and energy connectivity in South America.

That greater presence is also reflected in our financing program.

Over the next two years, we are going to mobilize US$2.7 billion for Paraguay.

And the composition of that program also says a great deal about the development model being consolidated by the country.

Approximately US$2.0 billion will be channeled through IDB Invest, our private sector arm.

And around US$700 million will go to public sector projects.

In other words, the private sector will receive nearly three times more resources than the public sector.

This supports the country’s strategy of driving growth through private investment supported by sound institutions and stable macroeconomic policies.

And that program is already being translated into specific projects.

In productive development, with projects like Paracel and Atome.

In infrastructure and connectivity, with the Bioceanic Corridor, the expansion of Routes 2 and 7, and the exploration of improvements to Route 1.

In energy, by strengthening the resilience of the power grid.

And in water and sanitation, with the Lake Ypacaraí Watershed program.

A moment of opportunity for the region

I have spoken of utopias in Paraguay. But the IDB Group is also hunting for its own utopias, seeking out the possible in the impossible.

Two years ago, in 2024, in the Dominican Republic, we launched IDB Invest’s US$3.5 billion capital increase and IDB Lab’s replenishment, along with their new business models.

We can now say that the capital increase subscription process has been successfully completed, and the same is true of IDB Lab’s MIF IV.

In 2025, the IDB Group had a record year with US$35 billion in financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, over 50% above the level in 2022.

This was record financing for both the public and private sectors.

And looking ahead, we have the capacity to mobilize US$500 billion over the next 10 years, double the amount disbursed in the previous decade.

But the objective is not only to finance more. It is to generate greater impact.

Because scale alone does not transform economies.

Today, those possible utopias are finding a real place in the region.

Development increasingly depends on the region’s more strategic engagement in the global economy and on regional integration.

It is a moment of opportunity. But opportunities do not turn into growth on their own.

We must be able to seize them.

And today we see three clear areas where the region can seize opportunities and leap forward.

First: Promotion of private-sector-led development.

The public sector lacks sufficient resources to close the gaps by itself.

Private investment is needed, as are productivity, technology, and greater competition.

For that reason, the IDB Group is positioning itself as the multilateral development bank for the private sector, leveraging over 65 years of experience with the public sector to generate synergies in order to scale up impact.

But as I have already said, the key question is not just how much we are going to finance. The question is how to achieve an impact to increase growth, create jobs, and reduce poverty.

Growth depends on the public sector creating enabling conditions and removing obstacles, and on the private sector investing and increasing productivity.

That is precisely the objective of LAC Crece, which we are launching here at the meetings, our platform to align and sequence reforms, financing, and private capital in a single, integrated program.

Second: Critical minerals and secure supply chains.

The global surge of technology and artificial intelligence is accelerating the demand for energy and critical minerals, putting Latin America and the Caribbean at the center of the new mineral map.

The countries want to go beyond extraction and add value locally through refining and processing—generating employment, revenue, and industrial capacity—while offering secure supply chains to the world.

At these meetings we are launching IDB LAC Minerals, which aligns the objectives of Latin America and the Caribbean and the rest of the world and what each can contribute:

Latin America and the Caribbean contribute scale in lithium, copper, nickel, iron ore, and rare earths—as the region holds a very significant share of the global supply of critical minerals—along with a growing public policy commitment to make progress on value-added.

The world contributes long-term contracts, advanced processing technology, more attractive prices, and adequate financing for large-scale projects in a market that could reach US$770 billion by 2040.

The IDB Group connects the two by supporting policy and regulatory frameworks, catalyzing private investment, and financing infrastructure for processing and value chains.

Third: Integration among those ready to move forward.

Unanimity is not required for growth. We need coalitions that execute.

A clear example is South Connection, which promotes projects such as the Bioceanic Corridor and strengthens connectivity between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

This same approach guides regional programs like ONE Caribbean, América en el Centro, and Amazonia Forever, as well as our support for implementation of the MERCOSUR-European Union agreement, while Paraguay serves as President pro tempore of MERCOSUR.

Closing

In conclusion, the IDB is known as the bank friend of our member countries. A friend that provides support and is there at critical moments.

But it must also be an earnest and loyal friend, who tells the truth, who points out challenges when they exist, and who works together with the countries to seize opportunities and turn utopias into concrete results.

We are going to work together to find the possible in the impossible: to turn those utopias into real growth, actual jobs, and a better life for our people.

Thank you very much.