Global economic instability, the COVID pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are economic and geopolitical events that continue to have a profound impact on Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is acutely aware of this and stands ready to help in the rehabilitation and development of the region and its 650 million people as it emerges from some of the darkest days in recent memory.

Last year, the IDB, and its private-sector arm IDB Invest, achieved a record of nearly US$23.4 billion in new financing approvals, commitments and private sector mobilisations.

Speaking at the opening of the 2022 Annual Meeting of the IDB’s Board of Governors held on Monday (March 28), IDB president Mauricio Claver-Carone said that the multi-lateral institution has reasons to consider new buffers, new connections for LAC in international trade.

“Not only should we be working together to mitigate the economic effects on the region but I believe LAC will play a role in offsetting commodity impacts for the entire world.

“At the same time, this region’s acute challenges will not stay out of the global spotlight for long. Some of our countries are suffering from prolonged instability, violence and persisting humanitarian crises. Haiti and Venezuela remain a focus for the IDB as they should for all of us.

“We must work even harder to prevent the conditions that currently prevent those countries from meeting the needs of their populations that hold back the region at large from fulfilling its true potential,” said the president of the IDB.

He stressed that it was not solely about financial stability but also the creation of healthier societies, always recognising the need to improve social protection, the ability to reignite growth and the enablement of robust private sector contribution to development. This should not simply be an imperative but an urgency.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a debilitating impact on the LAC region and its recovery may take years. There is some good news.

Today, 65 per cent of the population in LAC is fully inoculated against COVID, with many countries on track to reach 70 per cent by June of this year. While last year, the region accounted for a third of global infections, that figure is down to four per cent of newly reported cases.

Claver-Carone continued: “As the region accelerates vaccinations, the patterns reveal a stark rural/urban divide reflecting entrenched inequality and persistent structural shortcomings. We will not be able to relegate the pandemic to the past as we should until these gaps are truly narrowed. The governments of our lending countries face difficult choices. Sustainable development is not a zero-sum game. We recognise the narrowed fiscal spaces, the social demands that will grow and the speed at which the region must pivot from existing priorities.

“This is why the IDB stands ready to be a better partner, a stronger partner, an innovative solutions-based institution. A more flexible, creative bank can help governments bring about sustainable and inclusive growth through decisive action on critical social priorities by identifying opportunities for job creation while greening economies by unlocking private sector development.

“That is the IDB that we need. An institution equipped to help forge a prosperous future in a changed reality. An IDB with a new and improved value proposition.”