Abinader: “We are working with the IDB to turn the country into a logistics hub”

Punta Cana. The president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Ilan Goldfajn, described the Dominican Republic as a model of development to follow. He highlighted its “remarkable economic growth, above the average for the region,” which he attributed mainly to sound economic policies, promotion of investment, and the growth of the private sector.

He added that the country is now hosting a series of historic meetings that will enable the region to overcome common challenges such as climate change, food security, poverty reduction, education improvement, clean energy generation, and biodiversity protection.

President Luis Abinader described the IDB as a fundamental ally for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to strategically face these common challenges in a faster and safer way.

“The IDB Group is a key player, creating innovative products that allow us to access these funds under better conditions.

In this sense, the president said that they have been able to raise the quality of life of their people thanks to the financial and technical support they have received in infrastructure, energy, transportation, education, health, and institutional strengthening.

He also said that these alliances generate opportunities such as the potential for trade integration and efficiency in logistics. In the Dominican Republic’s case, its geographic location gives it a competitive advantage to become a regional logistics hub.

“One of the most recent joint initiatives with the IDB is the rehabilitation of the port of Manzanillo, a work that will allow us to boost exports, foreign investment, job creation and the entire logistics sector.”

IDB’s transforming axes

To overcome these challenges, Goldfajn indicated that the IDB Group is proposing three transformational changes: a new Institutional Strategy to increase the impact and scale of the works and
impact and scale of the work, and a new vision and business model for IDB Invest and IDB Lab that would increase their investment power.

Presidency pro tempore

Previously, the Minister of Finance, Jochi Vicente, assumed this Saturday the pro tempore presidency of the Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest), within the framework of the organization’s meetings, which have been held in Punta Cana since mid-week.

In his speech, Vicente expressed his gratitude for the financial and technical support provided by the IDB Group to Latin American and Caribbean nations in favor of better social and economic stability, fiscal sustainability, and strengthening of institutions.

“In the case of the Dominican Republic, it is our largest source of resources among official international creditors (the IDB), providing 44% of multilateral financing,” concluded the minister.