Canada’s partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank

News

The Fifty-fourth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation will be held in Panama City, Panama, from 14 to 17 March 2013.

Minister of State Ablonczy to Attend Annual Meeting of Inter-American Development Bank Governors

The Honourable Diane Ablonczy, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs (Americas and Consular Affairs), today announced she will attend the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Panama City, Panama, from March 16 to 17, 2013.

“Our vision for the region is one of a more prosperous, secure and democratic hemisphere,” said Minister Ablonczy. “As the region’s oldest and largest development bank, the IDB plays an essential role in making this vision a reality. Canada’s special relationship with the IDB – dating back to 1972 – not only reflects our geographic ties, but also our political, economic, and financial commitment to Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The IDB is the main source of multilateral financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. As the seventh-largest donor to the IDB, Canada has been an important contributor to the IDB’s ordinary capital resources and its trust funds.

IDB Background

Founded in 1959, the IDB currently has 48 member countries, including 26 Latin American and Caribbean borrowing members: Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Each member country's voting power is based on its subscription to the institution's Ordinary Capital (OC) resources.

Canada in the IDB Background

Canada has been a strong and reliable partner of the Inter-American Development Bank since 1972. Canada contributes just over 4 percent of the bank’s ordinary capital. The Canadian government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to the IDB and its goals of reducing poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2009, Canada temporarily increased its callable capital at the Bank by $4 billion, to support lending for economic, social and institutional development in the Americas during the global economic crisis. Canada also played a leading role in the negotiations to conclude the IDB’s Ninth General Capital Increase, which was agreed to in 2010. In March 2012, Canada established the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas at the IDB, a $250 million fund is providing concessional financing to advance private sector climate change actions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In addition, Canada has been a significant contributor to the IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund, a leading promoter of microfinance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its creation in 1993, the MIF has funded more than 1,700 projects in this region and has provided over $1.1 billion in grants and investments towards private sector development projects.

As part of Canada’s engagement in the Americas, Canada continues to strengthen its links with its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors. The Canadian government’s commitment to promoting a more prosperous, secure and democratic hemisphere is exemplified by its support for Haiti. Over the past decade Canada provided tens of millions of dollars in grants to the Haitian government to supplement IDB-financed investments in infrastructure, particularly in roads connecting some of the most remote regions of the country.

After the 2010 earthquake, Canada demonstrated its leadership in responding to Haiti’s plight. Canada was one of the first countries to forgive its share of Haiti’s foreign debt. At the IDB, Canada contributes to the Fund for Special Operations (FSO) which targets the least advantaged member countries, and also provided additional contributions to the FSO on behalf of the IDB’s poorest member countries, including Haiti.

Canada has hosted annual meetings of the IDB Board of Governors on three occasions: in 1978 (Vancouver), in 1990 (Montreal), and in 2011 (Calgary).

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