WASHINGTON, USA – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the US Department of State shared strategies and explored synergies to advance supply chains and nearshoring, the responsible development of critical-mineral resources, and the state of health in Latin America and the Caribbean during a high-level seminar hosted by the bank Monday.
IDB president Mauricio Claver-Carone and Jose W. Fernandez, undersecretary for economic growth, energy, and the environment at the department of state, led the discussion, highlighting the major opportunities for the region’s insertion into international value chains and US private-sector investment, the road to sustainably bringing more of Latin America’s minerals online to support the world’s green-energy transition, and the opening for modernizing healthcare systems with lessons learned from the pandemic.
Both presented next steps following the Ninth Summit of the Americas. President Claver-Carone detailed how the IDB will continue its work on trade and integration following its historic forum of ministers and private-sector leaders on the margins of Summit. The Under Secretary described the United States’ renewed vision and new initiatives for hemispheric prosperity, security and sustainability.
“The IDB and the United States agree that now is the moment to break through the inertia and seize opportunities for sustainable, inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean before they pass the region by – to the benefit of the entire hemisphere,” said president Claver-Carone. “From the $80 billion promise of nearshoring that exists today to the region’s potential to power green technologies
to the momentum for digitalizing and strengthening healthcare, our bank’s goal is to enable transformative results. An even deeper partnership with the United States will help get us there.”
“We seek greater regional cooperation between governments, the private sector, development banks, civil society, and others to lay a foundation for long-term, inclusive growth and opportunity across the Americas,” said undersecretary Fernandez.
A broad range of IDB experts and US State Department officials participated in the seminar, which included technical-level working sessions on the three topics in focus.
The United States, a founding member of the IDB, is the bank’s largest shareholder. The IDB is majority-owned by 26 borrowing member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
