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IDB supports small and vulnerable Caribbean states

The IDB in June announced the approval of a $20 million soft loan to finance economic and social development projects in four low-income Eastern Caribbean island states that are vulnerable to external financial shocks and natural disasters.

The resources will support projects to reduce poverty, improve physical and social infrastructure, strengthen public institutions and their policymaking capability, and mitigate the impact of natural disasters in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Caribbean Development Bank will oversee the program, guarantee the loan and on-lend resources for economic development projects in the five islands.

The islands are vulnerable to hurricanes, economic challenges resulting from growing trade liberalization, and international events that affect the tourism industry, such as the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

The IDB-financed projects will help the countries prepare to compete in international markets and to overcome dependencies on industries in which they no longer have a competitive advantage.

IDB hosts conference on security and development

The IDB will host a one-day conference entitled Security and Development: Challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean, on September 20, 2002, at the Bank’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The conference, jointly organized with the Organization of American States, will examine the various threats to security and their relationship to development in the economic, social, and political spheres. Regional leaders and experts from civil society, government, and academic and multilateral organizations will explore avenues for cooperation to reduce the region’s vulnerability to these risks.

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