The 54th Annual Meeting of the Bank’s Board of Governors to be held in Panama City March 13-17, 2013
PANAMA CITY, Panama - The President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Luis Alberto Moreno, and the Minister of Economy and Finance of Panama, Frank De Lima, participated in a ceremony to officially announce that the 54th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB will take place in Panama City March 14-17, 2013.
"It gives me great pleasure that Panama will host our next Annual Meeting,” said President Moreno. “I cannot imagine a more propitious meeting site,” he added. “Panama is amongthe region’s countries with the greatest potential for economic expansion in the next decade, in addition to its bid to become the Hub of the Americasin 2020."
The IDB Annual Meeting draws more than 3,000 participants, including ministers of economy and finance, central bank presidents, and other senior economic officials of the Bank’s 48 member countries. Also attending will be directors of private companies and representatives of aid and development agencies.
"Without a doubt, this is one of the most important international events to be held in our country,” said De Lima. “This meeting will give us the opportunity to make an important and responsible contribution to discussions of issues of great importance to the development of Latin American and Caribbean countries and relationships among them.
The meeting provides the opportunity for government officials to discuss IDBoperations and institutional priorities as well as the region's challenges and development needs.
In addition, a series of seminars will be held during the meeting to address issues such as biodiversity, logistics, maternal and child health in Mesoamerica, and the use of broadband to foster growth and social inclusion. There will also seminars on the role of the private sector as a partner in the region’s development and youth and social innovation.
In conjunction with the meeting’s official opening on March 14, senior business executives will participate in a Mesoamerican Business Summit.