IDB President Concludes Trips to Spain, Italy, to Launch BID for the Americas Program in Europe and Celebrate 50th Anniversary of European Membership at the Bank

• IDB Group launched the European BID for the Americas at events in Madrid and Rome. 
• Launch of the program coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Madrid Declaration, which opened the bank’s membership to European countries.
• President Goldfajn held high level meetings including Meetings with President Sánchez, King Felipe VI and Pope Francis.

ROME – The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, successfully concluded a four-day visit to Spain and Italy today to deepen ties with public and private-sector officials, entrepreneurs, academics and investors from across Europe. The focus of the president's visit to Europe was the launch of the BID for the Americas program and the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Madrid Declaration, which opened the Bank’s membership to European countries.

During his visit to Spain, President Goldfajn met with Spanish President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, His Majesty King Felipe VI, Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Carlos Cuerpo and other officials, including European Investment Bank President Nadia Calviño.

In Madrid, President Goldfajn delivered a lecture for students and faculty at the IE University, a longstanding partner of the IDB in Spain. At the university, he also spoke to business leaders about IDB Lab, the IDB Group’s innovation laboratory, and the remarkable potential of the venture capital system in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, President Goldfajn met with Santander President Ana Botín and the Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, to discuss opportunities to increase collaboration between Spain and the IDB Group.

President Goldfajn also met on two occasions with former IDB President Enrique V. Iglesias, including when they both spoke at an event at Casa de América to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Madrid Declaration. In 1974, the declaration opened the doors for European countries and others to become members of the IDB. The event was attended by representatives from each of the IDB’s EU member countries.

Over the past 50 years, the IDB and its European partners have harnessed their shared ties and priorities together to improve lives throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, thanks in large part to the unwavering commitment of the bank’s very active 16 European member countries.

In fact, Europe ranks first in terms of resource mobilization: one of every three dollars mobilized by the IDB comes from European partners. That amounts to over $18.5 billion to support the region’s development needs.

As part of the IDB Group’s effort to attract more foreign direct investment to Latin America and the Caribbean, President Goldfajn also launched the BID for the Americas for Europe. The program seeks to foster business opportunities and stronger economic ties between European countries and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The launch took place at an event in Casa de América in Madrid, attended by more than 200 European business leaders, high-level government officials and diplomats. Keynote speakers included Minister Carlos Cuerpo and EIB President Nadia Calviño.

Visit to Rome

Following his visit to Spain, President Goldfajn traveled to Rome, where he met with private-sector leaders and others to showcase the key opportunities that Latin America and the Caribbean offers to investors. In addition, he met with Italy’s Director General of the Treasury, Riccardo Barbieri Hermitte.

While in Rome, President Goldfajn solidified two partnerships aimed at fostering development in Latin America and the Caribbean. He signed an agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to collaborate in supporting rural and indigenous communities with an emphasis on the Andean and Amazon regions. He signed a second agreement with Scholas Occurrentes that focuses on reducing the risks of youth violence in the Haitian cities of Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haïtien, through sports and other activities in the country’s schools.

While in Italy, President Goldfajn also traveled to Vatican City, where he was received by His Holiness Pope Francis. Among other things, the two leaders talked about the need to reduce poverty, its connection with climate change, and the urgent need to act on mitigation and adaptation. They also discussed the IDB's long standing partnership with Scholas Occurrentes and the new joint project in Haiti to help reduce youth violence and promote education through sports.