BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The US$100 billion needed for regional development projects, and the Caribbean Development Bank’s (CDB) increasing role in making funds available for such initiatives, will be the focus of the bank’s first Annual Meeting webinar on Tuesday, April 25th, 2023 at 10:00 am.
The bank has assembled a panel which includes finance and development expert, Dr Frannie Léautier, vice president for finance and chief financial officer, Africa Development Bank Group, Hassatou Diop N’Sele, CDB president, Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon for the event. Under the theme, “Making Money Work for Better- Utilising International Financial Institutions’ Reserve Finances for Sustainable Development”, participants will examine novel funding arrangements for supporting development.
The dialogue will also consider the bank’s new role as a prescribed holder of International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawings Rights (SDRs), announced earlier this year. Prescribed holder status allows CDB an additional opportunity to pursue funding for sustainable development solutions for the region. This is in keeping with the bank’s objective of increasing access to adequate and affordable financing for its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) which is also the theme of the 53rd Annual Meeting of its board of governors, scheduled for June 12 – 23, 2023 in Saint Lucia.
CDB’s president, Dr Leon, said:
“The bank remains steadfast in its efforts to increase the financial and institutional resilience of its BMCs by making more resources available. Our mandate remains poverty reduction and transformation. We can greatly assist our people by unlocking capital and working with other Multilateral Development Banks and international agencies to provide affordable financing to support growth, economic recovery, and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.”
Sustainable development initiatives in developing countries, including the bank’s BMCs, are constrained by vulnerabilities and insufficient resources. CDB has repeatedly articulated that approximately USD10 billion is required annually to finance development programmes across the region, a figure which far exceeds current levels of investment.
The webinar will identify and examine new opportunities and approaches to accessing finance and other resources.
The session will also advance the ongoing dialogue around Loss and Damage following decisions at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) where it was agreed that “loss and damage” funding will be provided for vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters. The discussion will probe the ways in which CDB, as part of the international financial system, can contribute to this thrust.
