IDB Group Approves Country Engagement Note for Venezuela

The framework enables reengagement through technical assistance, private-sector support, and potential future investments.

WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) today unanimously approved the Country Engagement Note for Venezuela, marking a milestone in the IDB Group's reengagement with the country and its commitment to supporting the Venezuelan people and advancing joint development priorities.

The Country Engagement Note establishes a framework that will allow the IDB Group to build the institutional, analytical, and operational foundations needed to bolster Venezuela’s recovery through technical assistance, private-sector support, and potential future investments.

The IDB Group will work in two cross-cutting areas, macroeconomic stability and natural-disaster-risk management. 

Engagement will focus on three priorities: i) restoring the drivers of growth, with an emphasis on rehabilitating the electricity sector and supporting the transition toward a market economy; ii) improving social services for vulnerable populations, including strengthening social protection and food security; iii) supporting reconstruction efforts, particularly during the post-earthquake phase, applying a build-back-better approach.

“This is a milestone in the IDB Group’s relationship with Venezuela and our commitment to supporting its people,” said IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn. “We are combining our public-sector expertise with IDB Invest’s support for the private sector, which allows us to work with Venezuela to strengthen the foundations for recovery, improve essential services, and prepare investments that can support sustainable growth.”

Supporting Recovery and Reconstruction

The IDB Group will begin with technical assistance, institutional strengthening, and project preparation.

The technical-assistance program will focus on improving data and diagnostics; supporting institutional and regulatory reforms; strengthening the capacity of entities leading recovery and reconstruction; preparing viable public and private investments; and developing mechanisms for effective project implementation. This will include sector diagnostics, needs assessments, analytical studies, feasibility studies, engineering designs, and environmental and social analyses.

In parallel, IDB Invest will engage with the private sector through advisory services, market intelligence, project preparation, and selective loans and guarantees in key areas to support economic reconstruction and liquidity, subject to appropriate risk management and in coordination with other multilateral development banks and development finance institutions.

Any financing would be pursued through a flexible, phased approach, subject to conditions on the ground and applicable requirements. Public-sector loans would be prepared as separate operations and submitted to the IDB Board of Executive Directors for approval on a case-by-case basis, once the relevant conditions are met.