Two-day IDB meeting in PoS

The Third Pre-Annual Meeting of the Governors of the Caribbean Country Department (CCB) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently taking place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Port-of-Spain. Minister of Planning and Sustainable Development, Dr Bhoendradatt Tewarie, in his capacity as Governor of the IDB for T&T, is hosting the meeting which is being attended by IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno and all his senior executives as well as the governors of all Caribbean member countries of the IDB. 

During the two-day meeting, plenary sessions, group discussions and bilateral meetings have been organised, where governors of the CCB, which includes the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and T&T, have the opportunity to engage in bilateral discussions with the president and other senior officials of the IDB. The governors also have a chance to discuss amongst themselves common issues and challenges to strengthen the regional position in relation to the IDB. 

A key area of focus at this year’s meeting is the restructuring of the private sector windows of the IDB Group to better meet the needs of the borrowing member countries. The limited support of the private sector arms of the IDB Group to private sector institutions in the Caribbean has been a long-standing area of concern for member countries. The restructuring effort now underway is a welcome initiative that will shape future collaborations between the IDB and the private sectors of Latin American and the Caribbean. 

To this end, within the Caribbean region, T&T is expected to assume a leadership role in the restructuring exercise.