The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched three key regional initiatives on cybersecurity, capital market integration and fiscal policy under its ONE Caribbean regional program that aims to foster long-term stability and growth in the Caribbean. 

The new actions were presented during yesterday’s ONE Caribbean Ministerial Dialogue in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, a high-level gathering that marked the program’s two-year milestone. Through this leadership dialogue, IDB Governors and regional partners deliberated on emerging priorities for shaping the next phase of the program. 

Under the Cybersecurity Preparedness and Rapid Response initiative, developed in partnership with the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), a coordinated regional response is being delivered to escalating cyber threats. ONE Caribbean is providing targeted support for countries to develop cybersecurity action plans and has established a dedicated facility offering rapid technical assistance for severe cybersecurity incidents. 

Crucial developmental partnerships

ONE Caribbean is partnering with the CARICOM Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) and Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to promote deeper financial integration and explore the feasibility of an ambitious Regional Capital Market, which would foster harmonisation of standards, reduce cross-listing barriers, and unlock long-term public and private financing across the region. 

ONE Caribbean is also expanding fiscal research, training, and capacity building under the Fiscal Research Centre (FRC), established through a partnership between the IDB, University of West Indies, University of Ottawa, and the Government of Jamaica. 

The FRC serves 17 countries across the region and, through a “train the trainers” capacity-building model, is now rolling out a foundation course for policymakers and academics as well as producing a flagship publication on lessons learnt from a decade of reforms, providing a local platform for economic and public financial management dialogue. 

Programme endorsements

Additionally, under ONE Caribbean, the Project Preparation Coordination Mechanism provides support for structuring public, private, and PPP projects across the region. The initiative has generated strong momentum with over 300 stakeholders engaged, 30 project proposals submitted across sectors such as energy, transport, water, waste management, and urban development, and multiple projects allocated funding in its first year alone.  

“Regional integration delivers its greatest value when it leads to practical solutions for people, businesses, and governments across borders, and ONE Caribbean is showing exactly what that looks like,” explains IDB’s Vice President for Countries and Regional Integration, Anabel González. 

She adds, “in just two years, the program has moved from concept to action, providing a strategic framework for alignment of over a billion dollars of IDB Group operations across the region, and leveraging an initial $20 million in IDB non-reimbursable resources to raise an additional $13 million in donor grants, cultivating high-impact partnerships.”  

Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development for Trinidad and Tobago, Kennedy Swaratsingh, comments, “The ONE Caribbean Ministerial Dialogue is both a moment of reflection and a call to action. As Governors and Ministers, donors and supporters, our responsibility is to recognise that our region not only faces shared vulnerabilities, but also shared opportunities to pool technical expertise, scale up investment, and leverage innovative financing mechanisms. Today, we are more resolute than ever to ensure that ONE Caribbean delivers practical, people-centred outcomes with regard to safer communities, stronger economies, more reliable food systems and resilient infrastructure.” 

ONE Caribbean is the IDB Group’s regional program and strategic framework for addressing shared Caribbean challenges in the areas of resilience and adaptation, disaster risk management, citizen security, private sector development, and food security, while strengthening institutions and promoting digital transformation.

Created in 2024 at the request of Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago, the program has garnered grant resources from the United Kingdom and Canada, and also indirectly benefits countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States through IDB’s partnership with the CDB.