IDB Bets on Uruguay as an Example of Innovation for the Region and the World

Cutting-edge laboratory and forum of experts underscore IDB and Uruguay’s commitment to innovation as a key national, regional and global contributor to growth

MONTEVIDEO - Today marks another milestone in the alliance between the IDB and Uruguay in favor of innovation. IDB President Ilan Goldfajn and the President of the Republic of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, inaugurated the new laboratory of the Food and Human Health Program, also known as PAyS.

PAyS is an academic program with over 600 square meters of laboratories, advanced technology, and around 30 specialists in various disciplines. Its mission is to develop and incorporate interdisciplinary science to understand the relationship between food and health.

Its objectives are to train highly skilled professionals and to generate scientific knowledge about food and its impact on human health, as well as address the needs of the country’s productive sector, both for the domestic market and for export. To this end, the initiative launched the first master’s degree in Uruguay in Food Science and Human Health. This course trains specialists capable of thinking, researching, generating knowledge, and developing solutions in these areas.

The Program for Human Food and Health (PAyS for its Spanish accronym) is part of a loan operation between the IDB and the Ministry of Economy. 

The IDB and the government of Uruguay will also celebrate on August 29 the Uruguay Innovation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Forum - The Path to a Global Innovation Hub. The event brings together policymakers, the private sector, academics, and representatives of local and international civil society to discuss the opportunities that innovation and AI present for the growth of Uruguay and the region.

Uruguay has become a regional benchmark for innovation and digital transformation, the result of a process that began at least 20 years ago, since it started betting on innovation as an economic engine, with the support of the IDB Group as a strategic partner in milestones such as the creation of the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII). “We believe that Uruguay has all the potential to become not only a regional model of innovation but also a global one,” said Goldfajn. “It can be the center, a hub, where innovative solutions to global problems emerge, taking advantage of the country’s comparative advantages. Uruguay can drive Latin America and the Caribbean to be part of the solution to the global slowdown.”

In addition to meeting with President Lacalle, President Goldfajn also held meetings with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbeleche, and the President of the National Administration of Power Plants and Transmissions (UTE), Silvia Emaldi, as well as with representatives of the private sector and innovation experts.

About the IDB

The Inter-American Development Bank, a member of the IDB Group, is devoted to improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Established in 1959, the IDB partners with the public sector in the region to design and provide innovative, high-impact solutions for sustainable and inclusive development. Through financing, technical experience, and knowledge, it drives growth and well-being in 26 countries. Visit our website at https://www.iadb.org/en