BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is stepping up its partnerships with international financing institutions to unlock resources to propel sustainable social and economic development in its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs).
Acting president, Isaac Solomon outlined a slate of initiatives the bank is implementing in conjunction with international development organisations while delivering a presentation on “Partnerships for Resilient Prosperity” during CDB’s Annual News Conference, on February 20, 2024.
A major development is the government of Canada’s CAD 58 million ‘Supporting Resilient and Green Energy’ (SURGE) initiative for the Caribbean which will provide financing to accelerate the region’s sustainable energy transition.
Another collaborator is the Global Partnership for Education, (GPE) the world’s largest education fund for lower-income countries. Since CDB’s designation as a GPE Grant Agency in 2023, the bank has secured $5 million in grants to support education projects in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The bank executive also cited an enhanced cooperation agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank and IDB Invest for a new action plan for regional development focused on digital transformation, climate adaptation, disaster risk management, citizen and business security, food security, and private sector engagement.
Similarly, BMCs will also benefit from CDB’s accreditation as a technical partner of the Global Infrastructure Facility, a platform that attracts private investment for sustainable infrastructure projects in developing countries.
Recognizing the scale of the challenges, confronting the region, while “the window for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs, is narrowing rapidly,” Solomon said, “No institution on its own can achieve the mammoth task ahead. Consequently, we must intensify our pursuit of partnerships that facilitate improved productivity, knowledge sharing, technology transfer, and the mobilisation of finance.”
CDB is also pursuing multiple initiatives with the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The bank is managing the development of the GCF-funded Blue Co Caribbean Umbrella Coordination Programme devised to scale up financing and investment for transitioning to a low-emission, climate-resilient, blue economy across the region. The GCF has also financed the development of a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification system for regional climate finance, another innovation being driven by CDB. The end product will improve tracking, management, and accountability for climate finance allocated for the region.
“Ultimately, development is about creating the right conditions for the people of the Caribbean to achieve their full potential, enjoy the highest quality of life, and have a secure future,” Solomon explained. “The bank will leverage its leadership role in the Caribbean, and expand its affiliations – with governments, International Financial Institutions, donors, civil society, and the private sector – to enable our BMCs to surmount the barriers to sustainable development.”
