América en el Centro is a regional program for Central América and the Dominican Republic that will promote productivity and regional integration, climate adaptation and resilience, and social development for youth.
WASHINGTON, USA – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) presented the regional program ‘América en el Centro’, created in coordination with the governments of Central America and the Dominican Republic to build a common development agenda for climate resilience and sustainable growth. The countries’ finance ministers joined IDB president Ilan Goldfajn in signing a joint declaration of support for the program during an event launch at the IDB headquarters in Washington, DC.
The program focuses on three priorities: productivity and regional integration, climate adaptation and resilience, and social development of youth. Created at the request of the economy and finance ministers of the region, ‘América en el Centro’ aligns with the IDB´s new institutional strategy, IDB Strategy+. This new strategy is an integral part of the three transformational changes embedded in its IDB Impact+ reform, that creates a roadmap for boosting the scale and impact of the institution´s work.
Ilan Goldfajn, IDB president, said:
“Responding to the request of Central American nations and the Dominican Republic, this new program aims to enhance productivity and regional integration, strengthen climate change resilience and invest in the social development of young people. In doing so, it will seek to mobilize resources from donors and the private sector.”
In their joint statement, the finance ministers expressed gratitude to the IDB for its efforts and reaffirmed their commitment to supporting the program’s implementation, establishing working groups for each priority, sharing best practices, facilitating resource mobilization, and strengthening regional integration.
Within the three pillars, the program will focus on six thematic areas: sustainable regional infrastructure, support for participation in value chains, sustainable management of natural resources, disaster risk management, skills for youth success, and reducing gender gaps.
‘América en el Centro’ will have access to IDB funding but will also mobilize additional resources through co-financing, donor non-reimbursable funds, and access to private sector resources. It will also optimize resources from the IDB, IDB Invest, and IDB Lab, including program portfolios and technical assistance, complemented by generating and disseminating knowledge to improve decision-making.
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