CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC – The board of governors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) ended a two-day meeting here on Wednesday with a call for the region to continue championing the development of policies designed to drive fit-for-purpose investment activities and enhance implementation capacity of its borrowing member states (BMC).
“We must continue through collaborative advocacy to foster a paradigm shift in the international financing system, emphasizing the need to measure better, build resilience, and adopt better measures for sustainable development,” CDB President Dr. Hyginus “Gene,” Leon told the closing ceremony.
As he reflected on how the region charted the way forward, he said, “We need to scale up and strengthen support for tackling climate change, including increasing the volume of climate finance.
“We must be at the forefront of helping our countries to build resilience coupled with improving disaster risk finance and having an innovative and flexible mechanism to assist in the case of natural disasters.
“We must unlock private capital for the region and mobilize private sector financing, but to do this, we must reimagine our relationship with the private sector,” he added.
Leon said that this year, the CDB attempted a few innovations, which from all reports, were highly successful.
He said that the bank launched a year of activities to “create a real and meaningful agenda” and agreed with the positions outlined by the Executive Secretary United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, who, in delivering the annual William G. Demas lecture on Tuesday night, spoke of the importance of the Caribbean region in tackling the climate crisis and a call to action for increased financing.
“We also agree that there needs to be collaboration, bridging the gap between nations and promoting progressive partnerships while charting a clear path forward and taking responsibility to drive change,” Leon said, agreeing with Simon that the Caribbean is the region that can make the difference now, in this time of consequence; we’ve done it before, and we can do it again.”
The St. Lucian-born economist, who held previously held senior positions with the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the governors, during their deliberations, could place the Caribbean development agenda in sharp context.
We have all agreed on the urgency of now. Governors, we have heard of the need to navigate the challenging times characterized by the economic impacts of the pandemic, rising energy, and food prices, the increasing frequency of natural disasters due to climate change, and the need for adequate and sustainable financing.
“These challenges, therefore, require CDB and other regional partners to act now to mitigate the impact of future shocks on our region,” Leon said, adding that collaboration and collective action are essential for the region’s success.
“CDB is only as strong and as effective as our members and their collective voices,” he said, adding that the Barbados-based premier regional financial institution remains “deeply grateful for the confidence reposed” in it as illustrated in the statements made by respective governors on the opening day of the conference.
“I strongly urge that now is the time to make those voices louder as we advocate for a paradigm shift to advance the resilient prosperity of our region,” Leon said, warning that the region’s strength lies not in its countries but in the unity of its people.
“It is through collaboration and working together that we can unlock the true potential of our region. Nobel Laureate and first President of the CDB, Sir Arthur Lewis, said, “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much,” Leon told the closing ceremony.
The next Board of Governors annual meeting will be held in Canada.
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