IDB and EIB reaffirm support for Latin America and the Caribbean

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have renewed their commitment to co-finance projects that contribute to the economic and social development of Latin America and the Caribbean.

IDB president, Luis Alberto Moreno, and EIB vice-president, Carlos da Silva Costa, signed a memorandum of understanding today in Lisbon, during the XIX Ibero-American Summit.

In the statement Mr Moreno said, "This partnership allows both institutions to continue supporting economic growth, build infrastructure with a solid environmental focus, foster private sector development and create employment opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean."

The agreement will see the EIB's "financial strength and private sector orientation" combine with the IDB's "political reach and coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean" as well as its capacity to "identify and implement projects with both public and private partners," the statement added.

The new agreement renews commitments from both institutions that were set in a previous memorandum of understanding, signed in December 2004, which expires at end of this year.

Under the previous accord, the IDB and EIB co-financed important projects for the region, including the expansion of the Panama Canal and Nicaragua's power sector rehabilitation programme.

Both institutions, which are also jointly exploring possibilities to attract private investment to the region, plan to co-finance energy and transport projects in 2010, the statement said.