KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC -President of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Gene Leon, Monday called for greater collaboration to accelerate a sustainable and transformative development agenda for the region, urging the United Kingdom government to redouble its financing for a project that has been beneficial to the Caribbean.
Addressing the week-long inaugural United Kingdom (UK)-Caribbean Infrastructure Conference, Leon said the impact of global events over the last three and a half years has shown that the region’s development effort needs urgent action.
“The spin-off effects from this period of a global pandemic, the worsening impact of climate change, natural disasters like the volcanic eruption in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, food and energy insecurity, and volatile financial markets are unprecedented. “
Leon said that while the CDB’s borrowing member countries (BMC) have demonstrated some fortitude, their vulnerabilities and low resilience capacity have limited progress towards attaining the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Importantly, the means to achieving faster progress may be elusive, with a recent study by the United Nations Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2023 finding that SDG financing needs are growing, but development financing is not keeping pace.”
He said the region’s premier financial institution is addressing this challenge by steadily increasing support to its members. Last year, the bank’s disbursements increased by 12.2 percent to US$285.9 million, including US$105 million in grants.
Leon said this could not have been possible without the valuable partnership of the UK government and every government within the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF).
Leon said the UKCIF Programme represented nearly US$78.12 million of the total grant funding disbursed last year.
He said this partnership is instrumental to building resilient prosperity in the BMCs and has facilitated the delivery of development projects that have transformed the lives and livelihoods of Caribbean people in a way that neither the CDB, the government, nor the private sector could have implemented and completed alone.
Leon said that it is clear that this partnership works, but much more needs to be done, adding that resilient prosperity requires continued investment.
“It is imperative, therefore, that the UKCIF program, which ends in March 2026, is renewed. I have outlined, and the country representatives here can testify, that the now nearly one billion US dollars portfolio is making a difference in promoting sustainable livelihoods.”
“Honourable Minister, why stop the march to resilient prosperity that we have started? I propose a moonshot. Let us commit jointly to doubling portfolio value… within five years of a UKCIF renewal”.
The event, which is being held under the theme “Building Resilience for All,” is being attended by the UK’s Minister of State Development and Africa, Andrew Mitchell.
The CDB is coordinating it in collaboration with the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO),
Leon told the conference that is also being attended by Finance, Economic Planning, and Information Technology Camillo Gonsalves that ‘this region deserves nothing less.
“I would argue we have no choice. We must leverage programs and partnerships like the UKCIF to accelerate a sustainable and transformative development agenda. Our global position and the implications of our structural characteristics will always determine our vulnerabilities. Still, when we upscale the financing in partnerships such as this, governments can make each project a quality resilience-building investment.”
He said that the CDB would relentlessly pursue its ambitious agenda to build internal resilience capacity in the BMCs: enhancing the development paradigm to reflect the part structural legacy of yesterday, part shocks of today, and part capacity to recover and continue to grow, increasing access to ade.
“However, we cannot do that without the collaboration of our development partners, and that, colleagues, requires sharing a common vision. Indeed, the sustainable and transformative development we seek is our joint responsibility. “
The conference brings together infrastructure practitioners on projects funded by the UK through the FCDO across the region. It connects them with expertise to examine strategies and opportunities for improving and enhancing knowledge and impact.
The organizers say the intent is to capture valuable lessons from the projects and the current UKCIF program under implementation by the CDB to inform the design of future infrastructure projects in the region, build the regional capacity, and thereby increase the development outcomes and extend the sustainability of ongoing investment in Caribbean Infrastructure.
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