The Annual Meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), held in Chile from March 26 to 30, culminated with an attendance of 4,791 participants. The event brought together authorities, experts and representatives from 59 countries and resulted in the signing of 11 key agreements to face the challenges of economic development, innovation and poverty alleviation in Latin America and the Caribbean, enhancing resilience and integration. 

At the conclusion of the multilateral event, IDB President Ilan Goldfajn and Finance Minister Mario Marcel – who serves as president of the Boards of Governors for one year – made a positive assessment, where the former highlighted the broad consensus on the incorporation of the private sector into the regional cooperation strategy. "These meetings were a success. We agreed to implement our reforms with one goal in mind: to increase the impact and scale of our work and improve lives," said the IDB president. 

Minister Marcel pointed out that the objective of this meeting was to begin to implement the agreements adopted at the previous annual meeting in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: "very important agreements for the future of the Bank and the region, so evaluating their progress, impact and next steps was very relevant. We have had, in general, a very constructive discussion."

Marcel then highlighted the signing of 11 agreements, three of which are regional in scope, with particular importance for Chile. "The regional cooperation initiative on disasters was based on proposals made by Chile two meetings ago, in Panama, and which originally focused on cooperation in the fight against wildfires. The Bank expanded it to include various types of disaster, and more than 30 countries have already signed," he said. This initiative will have US$10 million in grant funding between 2025 and 2030 and seeks to strengthen the capacity of countries to face natural disasters through better preparation, regional coordination, and innovative financial mechanisms. It focuses on the development of tools for risk assessment and early warning systems, the creation of networks for a coordinated response, and the implementation of financial instruments such as catastrophe bonds. 

Marcel also highlighted the signing of the Southern Connection program to develop bioceanic corridors – in infrastructure and institutional development – for the physical integration of the continent, strategic connectivity between countries and markets, which aims to reduce costs and attract investment. This initiative was signed by Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay.  The third initiative, IDB Cuida, aims to address the regional shortage of care services through investment to generate paid jobs.

Prior to the assemblies held at the Estacion Mapocho in Santiago, two thematic events were held in Punta Arenas: Meeting of Regional and Local Authorities and International Investment Forum, between March 20 and 25. "The Meeting of investors in Punta Arenas far exceeded our expectations, it is not easy to get to Punta Arenas from other countries and we had a very interesting and promising dialogue linked to investments in clean production that are being promoted in that region of Chile," he said.

The assembly was attended by 30 international speakers in 25 seminars held between March 26 and 29, in Santiago. Among them, the 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics, Esther Duflo, who held a meeting with the Ministers of Finance and Economy of Chile, Mario Marcel and Nicolás Grau, respectively. In addition, Duflo was the keynote speaker at the seminar "Protecting the Vulnerable: Strengthening Resilience in the Face of Growing Crises," where strategies to improve social protection systems in the region were addressed. 

Another relevant guest was the renowned economist Philippe Aghion, professor at the Collège de France and the London School of Economics (LSE), who participated as a keynote speaker in the seminar "Building dynamic economies: Policy routes for inclusive and sustainable growth". In this forum, Aghion shared reflections with the Minister of Finance of Chile, Mario Marcel; the Minister of Economy and Finance of Paraguay, Carlos Fernández; and former Chilean Minister Andrés Velasco.

The meeting was also attended by the World Bank's Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, who highlighted the importance of advancing in education, inclusion, and green growth. The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, also attended an IDB assembly for the first time, reinforcing the European Union's commitment to international cooperation in sustainable development. 

For five days, attendees analyzed innovative policies to address the region's challenges, with an emphasis on social protection, inclusive economic growth, and environmental sustainability. 

Minister Marcel, as president of the Assemblies, will be responsible of monitoring the progress of the implementation plan of the reforms of the multilateral organization and keep the governors informed. "As incoming president of the Board of Governors, I am committed to keeping the governors duly informed, act as a bridge between the different stakeholders, promoting dialogue and collaboration, including the private sector.  We know that it will be a challenging year at the global level, which makes it especially valuable to have a strategy to face it, working collaboratively to face the challenges and achieve our objectives," said the minister in the closing speech of this event.