??
IDB President, Luis Alberto Moreno
The President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, will get a first-hand look at some of the local projects that hemispheric financial institution has funded when he pays an official visit to Barbados next week.
The IDB President will arrive here on Sunday, February 6, for an official visit, and the following day he is expected to have a hectic schedule including talks with representatives of the private sector and the local IDB office.
Later that same day, he will meet with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart; the Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, and officials of that Ministry at Government Headquarters where they will sign two important agreements. These relate to Sustainable Energy and a Coastal Management Programme. The IDB head will also have discussions with officials of the Caribbean Development Bank at its Wildey headquarters.
Established in 1959, the IDB is the largest source of development financing for 26 Latin America and Caribbean countries. Besides loans, the bank also makes available grants and technical assistance to its members as well as to civil society organisations.
Over the years, the IDB has provided development funding for a number of government projects and programmes here. Recent projects include the South Coast Boardwalk, the Water and Sanitation Systems Upgrade, an Agriculture Health and Food Control Programme; the Housing and Neighbourhood Upgrading Programme; the Administration of Justice Programme; and modernisation of the following: the Barbados National Procurement System; the Barbados Statistical Service; the Department of Customs, Excise and VAT; and the Barbados National Standards Institution.
Mr. Luis Moreno was elected President of the Washington DC based IDB in October 2005, and is in his second term in office, having been re-elected last July. As President of the Bank, he also serves as Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation and Chairman of the Donors’ Committee of the Multilateral Investment Fund.??