Guyana seeks to expand partnerships with IDB in energy, transport & diversification

– lending should be tailored to national realities – Finance Minister

The Guyanese Government is looking to expand its partnership with IDB Invest – the private sector arm of the Inter-American Development Bank, eyeing support for investments in areas such as transport, energy infrastructure and diversification.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh made these remarks on Saturday as the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the IDB and IDB Invest continued in Asunción, Paraguay.

Delivering remarks at the forum, Dr Singh lauded the expanding role of IDB Invest, following its capitalisation, in supporting the private sector in Guyana.
According to him, Guyana “…looks forward to increased engagement to support rapidly emerging investment opportunities.” These include areas such as transport and energy infrastructure, accelerating productive diversification and competitiveness, unlocking trade opportunities, and deepening regional integration.”
To this end, Singh encouraged the expanded use of instruments such as equity and local-currency financing to enhance the bankability and scale of projects for financing. He further noted that the IDB Lab’s continued focus on innovation, entrepreneurship, and scalable private-sector solutions is essential for economic diversification and long-term resilience.
Dr Singh pointed out that the annual meetings provide a valuable opportunity to review progress, address shared challenges, and reaffirm the development priorities of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations.
He further lauded the IDB Group for its achievements in 2025, highlighting the increased approvals and net financial flows from the IDB Group into Guyana, including a policy-based loan in the human services sector, supporting reforms that benefit some of the country’s most vulnerable populations.
“We underscore the importance of policy-based lending as a flexible and effective development instrument, which Guyana has successfully applied across many areas over the years, such as justice reform, competitiveness, financial sector strengthening, and human services. We also emphasise the importance of tailoring lending instruments to national circumstances, including greater use of country systems to strengthen ownership, efficiency, and sustainability,” Dr Singh added.
Nevertheless, he reaffirmed Guyana’s strong support for the IDB Group and its reform agenda, noting that the completion of these reforms and the capitalisation of IDB Invest, as well as the replenishment of IDB Lab, will position the IDB Group as an even stronger and more responsive partner for the region.
Guyana currently serves as Chair of the Caribbean Constituency – The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago – and during his presentation at the Second Plenary Session of the 2026 Annual Meetings on Saturday, Dr Singh submitted the Caribbean Statement for the record.
While commending the progress made by the bank and highlighting that in 2025 the institution moved decisively from reforms to implementation, the finance minister reiterated his calls for the regional financial institution to expand and “tailor its lending instruments to country context’ and for the bank to ‘recognise and use local systems”.
“The countries in the Caribbean region remain among the most vulnerable in the world to more frequent and extreme natural disasters, external shocks, and global economic volatility. Our access to resources and financing remains limited, while our fiscal space remains tight to support our development agendas, and for these reasons, we welcome a bigger and better bank with relevant and appropriate support for our countries. Even as our countries continue to demonstrate resilience, we require flexible financing tools, stronger private sector engagement, and targeted interventions to overcome structural constraints that hamper growth and support resilience,” Dr Singh explained.
He further contended that the decisions endorsed during Saturday’s session, whether as independent sovereign nations or collectively as a region, will no doubt determine whether countries can turn their collective challenges into opportunities for further accelerating economic growth, increased regional trade, and making sufficient investment in climate-resilient infrastructure for the sustained development of the LAC region.
Minister Singh then pointed out that the convergence between the region’s development priorities and the IDB Group’s mandate continues to present ample opportunity for partnership.
Against this backdrop, he reiterated that the IDBG remains a highly valued and the largest development partner for the Caribbean – a partnership that the region is committed to strengthening.
Turning his attention to disaster risk instruments, Dr Singh told the gathering that as a disaster-prone region, the Caribbean welcomes the bank’s new Disaster Risk Management Action Plan for 2026-2030, which emphasises prevention, preparedness, resilient recovery, and financial protection through innovative tools such as contingent credit facilities, catastrophe insurance, and climate-resilient financing instruments.
According to Dr Singh, these tools will be critical in helping Caribbean countries strengthen fiscal resilience and improve preparedness for future shocks.
Dr Singh is accompanied in Paraguay by the Executive Director in the Caribbean Office of the IDB, Navita Ramroop, as well as the Director of Projects, Bernard Lord, and Senior Economic and Financial Analyst, Ronette Hetsberger.