WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) says it has entered into a new framework agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to foster enhanced collaboration.

It said that this will be done through the harmonisation of operational processes for more efficient cooperation and accelerate sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB said with a strategic mix of complementary expertise, strategies, and modalities, this renewed partnership enables both institutions to leverage their experience, thereby supporting more agile collaboration at the policy and programmatic levels.

It said through joint analysis and assessments, SDG-aligned tools and methodologies, knowledge products, policy support, and project implementation, UNDP and IDB will support governments achieve their highest impact while simultaneously enhancing their national institutions and capacities.

The agreement will expedite the progress in joint priority areas, such as reducing poverty and inequality, addressing climate change, and bolstering sustainable growth through productivity and innovation, amplifying the reach and long-lasting impact of development actions.

“With this agreement, we have a long-lasting framework between both institutions that will allow us to support our countries in a more agile and efficient way,” said IDB president Ilan Goldfajn.

UNDP administrator, Achim Steiner, said the IDB and UNDP have long been engaged in collaborative efforts throughout Latin America and the Caribbean with a shared vision to reduce poverty and inequality, address climate change and achieve the Global Development Goals, with a focus on equity and inclusion, effective governance, social protection, innovation, and digitalisation.

“This new agreement sets the foundation of a solid, more agile collaboration to jointly face the diverse challenges in the region ensuring no one is left behind,” Steiner added.

IDB and UNDP have worked closely for a quarter of a century, cooperating on social and economic development initiatives aimed at, among other goals, boosting growth and employment, reducing poverty and inequality, fostering sound environmental and natural resource management, and promoting regional integration.