Caribbean Governors endorse IDB ‘One Caribbean’ program

Mar 09, 2024 News

From Left: Pennelope Beckles, Minister of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago; Christopher Coye, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance of Belize; Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Ilan Goldfajn IDB President; Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs of The Bahamas and Leader of Government Business in the Senate; Kermechend Raghoebarsing, Minister of Finance and Planning of Suriname and Dr. Ashni K. Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) has endorsed the “One Caribbean” program. The program is a comprehensive framework designed to support enhancing living standards across the Caribbean region. The program focuses on four pillars: 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.

The signing of this endorsement statement took place during the IDB and IDB Invest Annual Meetings in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The signatories includes Dr. Ashni Singh, Senior Minister in the Office of the President of Guyana; Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados; Michael Halkitis, Minister of Economic Affairs of The Bahamas and Leader of Government Business in the Senate; Kermechend Raghoebarsing, Minister of Finance and Planning of Suriname; Pennelope Beckles, Minister of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago; and Christopher Coye, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance of Belize. IDB President Ilan Goldfajn signed as a witness of honor.

IDB President Goldfajn in his address said, “Today’s signing is another important step in our over half-a- century long relationship with the Caribbean and its people. In 2023, we started a discussion about shared challenges and the need to create a regional program to address these issues. ‘One Caribbean’ is proof that we at the IDB Group are committed to partnering with the region in their efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth with an emphasis on high-impact initiatives. It is the first initiative under the group’s new institutional strategy.”

Moreover, by 2030 the “One Caribbean” program is expected to successfully support the region in increasing access to resilient infrastructure, promoting safer communities, enhancing private sector engagement and productivity, and improving food availability, access, use, and stability. The initiative will facilitate greater impact and the increased flow of resources for the Caribbean with the support of the IDB Group.

IDB in a statement underscored that as a trusted partner and the largest development finance institution in the Caribbean region, the Group is well poised to offer countries comprehensive solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Notably, it was stated that the IDB Group will deploy all its windows to address inter-dependent underlying challenges, provide mechanisms to increase innovative financing, and boost collaboration with partners that work in the region.

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Caribbean, finance, Governors, IDB, program

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