LIMA, Peru, CMC – The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) says it has approved the incorporation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a Series C shareholder country, further extending the reach of the bank’s development financing to the Caribbean.
“St. Vincent and the Grenadines is joining a development bank that understands the realities of Caribbean small states and the development challenges of multi-island states, in particular,” said CAF Executive President Sergio Díaz-Granados.
“We are indeed pleased to deepen our partnership with St. Vincent and the Grenadines and are committed to providing practical, tailored financing solutions so that the government can deliver on its promise to the communities in the various islands.
“CAF is continuing to deepen its engagement in the region to support climate-resilient infrastructure, productive transformation, as well as sustainable and inclusive growth. We are pleased to welcome St. Vincent and the Grenadines into our CAF family of shareholder countries,” Diaz-Grandos added.
The decision to admit St. Vincent and the Grenadines was taken during CAF’s board of directors meeting here, during which the board also approved US$1.130 billion for new operations across the region, covering water security, citizen security, response capacity to natural disasters, and debt management. The meeting also marked Trinidad and Tobago’s handover of the chairmanship of the board of directors to Uruguay.
As a result of its approval, St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be able to access CAF’s agile and flexible development financing instruments, technical cooperation, and knowledge programmes designed to respond to the specific needs of small island developing states.
This latest incorporation follows recent approvals by the CAF board for Dominica, St. Lucia, Haiti, and St. Kitts and Nevis, all of which are at different stages of completing their incorporation process.
CAF said that these decisions reflect its continued commitment to channelling agile and flexible financing to all Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries as the bank fulfils its mandate to advance regional integration and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Since establishing its Regional Office for the Caribbean in 2022, CAF has more than tripled the number of its shareholder countries in the Caribbean.
At the same time, CAFsaid it continues to channel increased grant resources and investments across the Caribbean in areas such as water security, energy transition, digital transformation, heritage tourism, technical and vocational education, private sector development, and the blue and green economy.
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