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President Moreno awarded for his work and service for Latin America and the Caribbean

The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, last night received a distinguished service award for leadership in the Americas by PODER Magazine and the American Business Council Foundation (ABC, Americas Business Council).

The award is a tribute to the men and women who are producing systematic changes in their own communities in the areas of social entrepreneurship, sustainability and peace.

Moreno said the global economy is initiating a new phase, marked by the rise of an emerging middle class and South-South trade. This new reality will also mean new opportunities for the so-called “multilatinas”—which are companies from Latin America and the Caribbean that are expanding their operations beyond their own borders and, increasingly, beyond their immediate neighbors and entering into the global marketplace.

“Now is the turn for Latin American companies to be creative and tap the market, creating a whole new direction for international trade,” Moreno said.

Bravo awards

On October 29, Moreno received the Distinguished Service Leader of the Year award in the hemisphere of Latin Trade's 2010 BRAVO Business Awards. Bravo Awards recognize different leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean for their excellence and achievements. Other honorees included former President of Colombia Álvaro Uribe, Brazil's Minister of Foreign Affairs Celso Amorim and the President of Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), Luciano Coutinho.

Among Moreno's achievements Latin Trade highlighted his work for making the IDB the "driver of change in Latin America and the Caribbean."

In the event, Moreno participated in a panel on infrastructure and integration, as part of the Bank's priorities under the IDB's Ninth General Increase in Resources. "One of the Bank's priorities is the infrastructure for competitiveness and social welfare," said Moreno. "The region needs to increase its investments in productive infrastructure to close the gap with other emerging markets and ensure sustainable growth."

In the last decade, the IDB has approved more than $37 billion in infrastructure. The IDB's water and sanitation initiative has helped more than 30 million people in the past four years. In the next decade, the IDB aims to approve annual operations of $1.8 billion to benefit integration.

The event also highlighted the importance of strategic partnerships and collaboration with private partners, such as The Coca Cola Company, to support various development programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, including mango growers in Haiti. It also highlighted the Bank's efforts to help the region's approach to China and the collaboration with Chinese companies such as Sinohydro Corporation Ltd.

Bravo Business Awards (known as the "Oscars of Business") honor excellence and achievements of different leaders in Latin America and the Caribbean.

PODER is a business magazine for a global audience of entrepreneurs and high-level decision-makers. American Business Council Foundation (ABC*) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to create a series of forums where the leaders of the Americas can gather to hear stories and share experiences with extraordinary people.

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