MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Caribbean countries: a big player in many crucial areas, IDB says

The region’s experience, expertise, resilience, and leading role in climate preparedness is an example for the world,” Goldfajn said

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group concluded after its XII Annual Consultation meeting with Governors of IDB Caribbean members on Feb. 23 and 24 in Georgetown that the Caribbean might be small in size but is nonetheless a “big player” in many crucial areas, it was reported from the Guyanese capital.

The IDB gathering -which was attended by representatives from Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago in addition to an envoy from the Caribbean Development Bank- was in preparation for IDB and IDB Invest Annual Meetings to be held between March 6 and 10 in the Dominican Republic.

During his first visit to Guyana as IDB President, the Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn acknowledged the bank’s collaboration with the Caribbean region over more than 55 years. “Despite its relatively small size, the Caribbean is a big player in matters such as climate change, education, and digital transformation. The region’s experience, expertise, resilience, and leading role in climate preparedness is an example for the world,” he said.

The meeting was a space for dialogue on how the IDB can deepen its support to the countries through financing, knowledge, and technical assistance through its “One Caribbean” program, a new regional undertaking to promote sustainable development with a sharpened focus on high-impact initiatives. It focuses on climate adaptation, disaster risk management and resilience; citizen-security; private-sector engagement; and food security, as well as two cross-cutting areas, strengthening institutions and facilitating digital transformation. This program is a result of talks between Goldfajn and Caribbean governors in 2023.

To strengthen private-sector capacity across the Caribbean, IDB Invest has been supporting port infrastructure to foster regional integration, facilitating foreign trade, and contributing to food security.

Additionally, IDB Lab has been accelerating digital transformation, supporting the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, addressing climate-change mitigation and resilience, procuring basic infrastructural services, and fostering innovation in the health sector.