“We consider the IDB an important development partner well into the future” – Finance Minister

Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh emphasized that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is considered an important development partner for Guyana well into the future.
“We in Guyana consider it a great privilege to host these important consultations, not least because of the value we place on the IDB as a longstanding provider of development support at scale, but also because of the IDB’s demonstrated reliability and trustworthiness as a development partner over the years, going back to a time when Guyana’s economic circumstances were vastly different from those that obtain today. From the time we joined the Bank in 1977 to date, the Bank has approved over US$2 billion worth of support for public sector operations,” Dr Singh told the XXII Annual Consultation with Caribbean Governors on Saturday at the Guyana Marriott Hotel.

“…as we in Guyana navigate the current era of rapid economic growth and transformation – the foundation for which has been laid over many years, which long predated the discovery of oil and gas – we remain today firmly focused on: delivering improvement to the lives of all of our citizens in the shortest possible time; ensuring that we build resilience for the medium and long term, including by diversifying our economic base and improving our competitiveness across all sectors; and remaining at the forefront of both fiscal and environmental sustainability.”
It was on this note that the Finance Minister said the IDB was an important development partner well into the future, including as an important source of financing for the country’s rapidly-growing and diversifying Private Sector. He also expressed appreciation for and welcomed the Bank’s approval through IDB Invest of US$177 million for Private Sector operations in Guyana since 2020 across wide-ranging sectors, including transport infrastructure, agro-processing, tourism, and higher education. Dr Singh noted that this brought to an end the drought of Private Sector approvals that preceded 2020 and was a tangible response to the Government’s longstanding call for ramped-up support by the Bank and other multilateral and regional development banks through their Private Sector windows to the Guyanese private sector.
The Finance Minister said the consultation provides an important opportunity for participants to reflect on the Bank’s accomplishments and progress over the past year, but that far more importantly, the purpose of the event was to discuss the future strategies and goals of the IDB Group, as reflected in the new institutional strategy of the Bank, the new capitalisation plan of IDB Invest, and MIF IV, IDB Lab’s new model of financing.
“We particularly look forward to discussing the regional development plan by the Bank, under the very appropriate banner of One Caribbean which especially resonates with us in Guyana as we pursue the goal of One Guyana. This plan is timely, if not overdue, as we have long called for the Bank to develop a specially-targeted sub-regional plan or strategy for the Caribbean, given the very peculiar circumstances and challenges faced by the Bank’s smallest and most vulnerable member states,” Dr Singh posited.
He then further encouraged the Bank to pursue innovative approaches towards mobilising and leveraging capital, for both Public and Private Sector operations, as “we seek collectively to build greater resilience in the Caribbean”.
Further, the Finance Minister used the opportunity of the forum to highlight Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) 2030, and its predecessor, the original LCDS, both of which provided a blueprint for Guyana to monetise the climate services provided by the country’s standing forests.
“This has enabled us to be remunerated for these climate services and the funds earned are being deployed to finance climate-friendly investments, advance our energy transition, and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities, particularly those in the hinterland,” he concluded.
Guyana is hosting the Twelfth Annual IDB consultation with Caribbean Governors in advance of the 2024 Annual Meetings of the IDB Group to be held early next month in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.