Ministers, business leaders and experts to attend IDB annual meeting in Asunción, Paraguay

· IDB business forum will bring together business leaders from more than 33 countries to discuss business opportunities in the region.

· Media online registration is now availablefor the meeting, to be held March 30 to April 2

The Inter-American Development Bank Group will hold its Annual Meeting from March 30 to April 2 in Asunción, Paraguay, bringing together government authorities, private sector leaders and representatives of civil society. The meeting will address the challenges that Latin America and the Caribbean face in macroeconomics, trade, and investment, among other areas.

This will be the 58th annual meeting of the Assembly of Governors, the Bank's main decision-making body representing its 48 member countries. Most of the Governors are ministers of finance or economy, or central bank chairs. The Annual Meeting also brings together thousands of business, social and finance industry leaders.

The IDB Group is made up of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which offers resources and financing to the public sector, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), which focuses on private sector operations, and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which provides grants and other resources to promote small-scale innovation projects in the region.

The Annual Meeting will include two parallel events: the Business Forum Latin America and the Caribbean: An Agenda of Growth and Development and the 8th edition of Demand Solutions, which will feature major innovators and entrepreneurs.

The Business Forum will be attended by 500 participants from 33 countries, who will discuss business opportunities in the region. The Forum allows participants to interact on public and private sector issues of shared interest.

The list of speakers includes Andrés Rebolledo, Minister of Energy (Chile), Romaine Seguin, President, Latin America, UPS (United States) and Marcelo Secco, CEO, Marfrig Cono Sur (Brazil), among others. The Forum will also feature a presentation from the IDB's chief economist, José Juan Ruiz, on economic challenges in the region.

Also as part of the forum, Paraguay will present its new country brand and investment opportunities.

Demand Solutions will highlight the role of women as drivers of innovation and transformation in the past, present and future of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Participants at Demand Solutions will include astronomer Duília F. de Mello, who is considered one of the 10 most influential women who are transforming Brazil; Mónica Araya, founder of the project known as Costa Rica Limpia and a consultant on sustainable development and climate change policy in Latin America; Miranda Wang, a young Canadian science entrepreneur who has devised an innovative solution with a positive impact on the environment.

Demand Solutions Paraguay will be held on Thursday, March 30 from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm in the Tricolor building of the Paraguayan Olympic Committee. Registration is at www.iadb.org/ds/inscribete

Macroeconomic assessment

During the meeting the IDB Group will unveil its annual macroeconomic assessment of the region, amid a challenging economic and political environment.

At the investment forum, the General Manager of the Inter-American Investment Corporation, James P. Scriven, will analyze the IIC’s first year of operations since the IDB Group consolidated all its private sector operations. He will look at how the IIC is positioned to deal with the shifting needs of its clients in areas such as energy, transport, water and sanitation, agriculture and telecommunications.

Members of the press may register for the meeting and obtain information about hotels at the website of the Annual Meeting.