The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) signed an Addendum to the 2020 Mutual Cooperation Agreement yesterday at the 28th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) currently underway in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

This new action plan strengthens activities aimed at addressing climate change resilient –physical and digital- infrastructure, project preparation and execution in priority areas, private sector productivity and development, and exposure exchange agreements and other financial products, among others.

Since 1977, the IDB and the CDB have collaborated on areas of common interest. In 2017, both institutions formalised their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Caribbean. In 2020, they further bolstered collaboration through a Mutual Agreement, focusing on co-financing projects, providing financial and advisory services, promoting partnerships, and fostering knowledge exchange.

The Addendum signed today, along with the new Action Plan, complements the existing Mutual Cooperation Agreement. It emphasized collaborative actions and partnership activities aimed at addressing upcoming development challenges in the Caribbean aligned with IDB's “One Caribbean”, a new regional flagship program that aims to promote the sustainable development of the Caribbean with a sharpened focus on high-impact interventions. The “One Caribbean” program includes four key pillars: climate adaptation, disaster risk management and resilience; citizen and business security; sustainable development through private sector engagement; and food security.

Ilan Goldfajn, President of the IDB, said: "The IDB, IDB Invest and the CDB reinforce today their commitment to identifying synergies and enhancing collaboration for the benefit of the entire Caribbean. Our mutual priorities include boosting regional infrastructure resilience to climate change both physical and digital, enhancing mutual project preparation and execution capacity in priority areas, promoting private sector productivity, growth and development, and exploring financial solutions to extend the organizations' reach and impact in the region. This new chapter with the CDB is aligned and reinforces IDB's new regional program “One Caribbean".

James Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest, said: "No other region has been more affected by climate change than the Caribbean, and bolstering our relationship with the CDB will allow us to support sustainable projects for the local ecosystems, economies and communities."

Dr. Hyginus 'Gene' Leon, President of the CDB, said: "The Addendum to the existing Agreement includes a 3-year action plan for strengthening the resiliency ecosystem including, capacity building on project execution, joint research and knowledge sharing activities and co-financing for private sector growth. These initiatives are critical flagstones along the path to resilient prosperity. We look forward to the enhancing of this partnership with IDB as we could not deliver on these programmes on our own."
 

Photo Caption: (From left to right) President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ilan Goldfajn; President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Dr. Hyginus 'Gene' Leon, and CEO of IDB Invest, James Scriven, mark the signing of an Addendum to the 2020 Mutual Cooperation Agreement between their respective institutions on December 3, 2023 during the 28th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.