The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is promoting the discussion and analysis of the impacts of the global financial crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean during seminars in Medellín, Colombia, related to the 50th Annual Meeting of the Bank'sBoard of Governors.
The discussions will feature government leaders such as Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Zhou Xiaochuan and governor of the People’s Bank of China, as well as noted experts such as Robert Merton, a Nobel Prize-winner economist.
Hundreds of government officials, economists, civil society representatives and academics will take part in IDB-sponsored events from March 24-31 in Medellin. Representatives of the Bank’s 48 member countries, which this year will include China for the first time, will begin their two-day meeting on March 29th to discuss ways the IDB can increase support to the region to overcome long-term development challenges.
Seminar Highlights:
March 27: “Quality of Life Beyond Facts: How Percepcions Shape Policy” at Plaza Mayor Convention Center, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Panelists Moisés Naím, editor of the Foreign Policy magazine; Roberto Lavagna, former finance minister of Argentina; and Alain Touraine, research director at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, will discuss the political implications of perceptions during periods of financial crises. The debate will be moderated by journalist Michael Reid from The Economist, specialized in Latin American issues.
March 28: “Facing the Crisis: Economic and Social Policies for Turbulent Times,” at Plaza Mayor Convention Center, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Robert Merton, currently the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at the Harvard Business School and Paul Collier, Director for the Center for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St. Anthony’s College, will discuss the length of the crisis, the effectiveness of the measures adopted by the United States and other countries and suggested policy responses. Moisés Naím, editor of the Foreign Policy magazine, will moderate the debate.
March 28: “Great Challenges of Our Time,” at Plaza Mayor Convention Center, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Enrique V. Iglesias, Secretary General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, and Percival J. Patterson, Jamaica’s former prime minister, will comment on the findings of an IDB survey with Latin American and Caribbean leaders and express their views on the biggest long-term obstacles for development for the region.
March 31: “Dialogue on Foreign Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean,” at Plaza Mayor Convention Center from 10:00 a.m to 1:00 p.m. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, Colombia’s Finance Minister Oscar Zuluaga and Enrique García, President of the Corporación Andina de Fomento, will host a debate about recent trends in foreign direct investment in the region.