BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Nov. 25, 2021 — Recently, IDB Vice President for Countries, Richard Martinez Alvarado made his first official visit to Belize accompanied by Mr. Fernando Quevedo, General Manager of the Country Department, Central America, Haiti, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic. During their visit between November 9th and 11th, Vice President Alvarado met several government officials, including Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño and the IDB Group Representative in Belize, Mr. Ramiro Lopez-Ghio.
He also attended the Belize Investment Summit held in San Pedro on November 10th and 11th and gave a special address during the opening session. In an exclusive question-and-answer session with AMANDALA, Alvarado said that while Belize and the region at large have been facing an economic downward spiral, the Investment Summit was a promising turning point for the nation. “It proves that the worst of the pandemic is already behind us and that the work Belize has made to recover and reignite growth is paying off. The next years are going to be challenging, but also full of opportunities, and I know Belize has all the ingredients to succeed. Because they were all at the Summit: investors, a local private sector with a tremendous potential, and public sector leaders such as the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition putting aside political differences to make this work,” he said.
Mr. Alvarado went further to express the IDB’s commitment to supporting Belize as it explores new avenues of tourism and engages in agrobusiness and digital transformation initiatives in an effort to bring about economic recovery. He said that the IDB is “mobilizing financial and technical resources” to be utilized in key areas identified by both the Government of Belize and the private sector which are in line with the IDB’s development model for the entire Caribbean and Latin American region.
This model, identified as “Vision 2025 – Reinvesting in the Americas,” is a framework designed to fortify the country’s financial management to make it easier to do business within the private sector. He went more into detail about Vision 2025 during his interview:
“In this framework, our support to Belize this year and the next is focused on consolidating economic sustainability and building resilience. In 2021, that includes an operation to strengthen public financial management as well as a $15 million credit line for MSMEs that we signed today during the Belize Investment Summit. Executed by the Development Finance Corporation, it will finance productive investments of more than 200 small and medium local businesses, assuring at least 25% of the resources go to women. And in 2022, when our pipeline for Belize will be the highest in IDB history, we will focus on boosting private sector activity. For example, we have started the design of a new operation to promote digital transformation in MSMEs, simplify the regulatory environment and increase the supply and access of digital services. All complemented with the work done by IDB Invest, our private sector window. Actively participating in Belize, it has a current portfolio of $53 million in trade, agribusiness, and energy.”
Vision 2025 further outlines five target areas that will aid the region in recovering from what has been a historic blow to economic stability. These areas include regional integration and strengthened value chains which could result in a US$70 billion “shot in the arm” for the region each year. Secondly, as it relates to the digital economy, the IDB pledges that they are ready to support policies, finance initiatives and catalyze public- and private-sector investments to improve connectivity and deploy cross-cutting digital tools. Thirdly, Vision 2025 also includes support for SMEs and support of policies and regulatory frameworks that promote productive financing for SMEs and financial inclusion. Fourthly, the model is also geared at the promotion of gender equity and diversity, as the IDB remains committed to mainstreaming gender-based business and to being a leader in ensuring financial access and opportunities for all marginalized groups. And finally, there will be a climate-change component through which the IDB will continue to design and use innovative financing tools to leverage private-sector investment and promote climate-resilient development.
VP Alvarado went on in his interview to share that the IDB intends to bridge the gap between First World countries and developing nations in regard to vaccination availability. “I am proud to say that we have been a key ally of Belize from the very beginning, initially to provide financial support to vulnerable families and then funding the acquisition and deployment of vaccines. In total, the IDB has devoted $40.7 million to fight the pandemic in Belize,” he replied.
Another focal point which the IDB has been addressing more aggressively is the impact of climate change on Latin America and the Caribbean. Alvarado said that the IDB has contributed roughly 60% of all climate-based financing to the region from multilaterals since the signing of the Paris Agreement and he said that at this year’s COP26 in Glasgow, the IDB “announced that all our new operations will be fully aligned with the Paris Agreement goals by January 2023, and that we will deliver a total of $24 billion in green and Climate Finance in the next four years.” “We are also ready to redouble our efforts to mobilize private capital for climate action and to deploy capacity building efforts at a pace and scale that meet the magnitude of the challenge ahead,” he said.