WASHINGTON, CMC – Development challenges and opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) will be among the issues discussed when the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest hold its annual board of governors meeting in the Dominican Republic in March.

Additionally, issues ranging from tackling climate change to ensuring equitable and sustainable growth, and reducing poverty and inequality will also be discussed.

The IDB said that the March 6-10 board meetings are the top decision-making bodies, comprising finance and economy ministers and other leading officials from the LAC.

“The governors will discuss ways the IDB Group, as the region’s leading source of development financing, knowledge and research, can increase its support for Latin America and the Caribbean amid rising social demands, restricted fiscal space to meet those demands, and the need to increase financing to transition to green economies,” the IDB said.

It said some of the key issues that the governors will address include the new IDB Group Institutional Strategy; the capital increase proposal for IDB Invest, as well as a new business model that would expand its development impact through the private sector.

New funding for IDB Lab, the bank’s innovation laboratory, to evolve its business model on private sector solutions for poor and vulnerable populations to one of multi-source funding will also be discussed.

The IDB said that other activities include a meeting with members of civil society from member countries and thematic seminars on development topics, including investments and results in education, the energy transition in the region, agricultural innovation and food security.

The annual meetings will also feature a business investment forum and the IDB said that .

It will release its annual macroeconomic assessment report for Latin America and the Caribbean.