The Inter-American Development Bank has endorsed the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which encourages governments and companies to disclose revenues and payments generated by oil, gas, and mining industries.
The endorsement was approved today by the IDB’s Board of Executive Directors.
EITI is a global initiative to strengthen governance by improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector. A diverse group of stakeholders including countries, international organizations, many of the world’s largest oil and mining companies, and civil society groups have signed on to the initiative, which was launched in 2002 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
“Extractive industries are key drivers of economic growth in many Latin American and Caribbean countries,” said IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno. “The EITI offers a useful framework for encouraging best practices, and it complements the IDB’s existing work in the areas of public sector transparency and modernization of the state.”
The IDB will work with other members of the coalition that support the EITI to promote its principles and participate in policy dialogues with natural resource-rich countries.
The IDB has an extensive portfolio of projects that seek to strengthen accountability in the management of public resources. These include programs to improve government procurement practices, judicial systems, fiscal management, customs procedures and land registration. The Bank has also worked to enhance the transparency of large extractive industry projects in the gas sector.