• The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Development Banking Summit will be held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from May 12 to 14.

February 4, 2025 – The Latin American Association of Development Finance Institutions (ALIDE) will hold its Annual Meeting 2025 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from May 12 to 14. The event will be hosted by Banco Agrícola de la República Dominicana (BAGRÍCOLA), with the collaboration of ALIDE members in the country, Bandex and Banreservas, and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The meeting, which seeks to strengthen financing for sustainable development, will feature the participation of prominent representatives of development banks, international financial organizations and cooperation agencies to discuss the economic and social future of the region.

Under the central theme “From global crisis to comprehensive security: Development banking, shaping the future of Latin America and the Caribbean”, the meeting will analyze the challenges and opportunities to ensure a more stable future through economic, energy, food, environmental and digital security. Through presentations by experts and leaders of the financial sector, the fundamental role of development banking in the economic recovery of the region will be discussed.

The event will feature three thematic plenary sessions:

1. Financial strengthening in the face of global critical situations: strategies to mitigate impacts in LAC, where innovative instruments that can be implemented to deal with unexpected situations will be shared.
2. Regional energy security: will explore perspectives and solutions to facilitate LAC’s transition towards a more diversified energy matrix that is less dependent on fossil fuels.
3. Food security and agricultural financing: will analyze the role of development banking in improving resilience to extreme weather events and other crises and its strategic contribution to ensuring sustainable agricultural production.

The program will include conferences, seminars and parallel meetings to address financing of priority sectors such as SMEs and small-scale agriculture; technological innovation focused on digitalization and artificial intelligence; and sustainability through green infrastructure, gender equity and thematic bonds, among others.

The Institutional Affairs Session will also be held, during which the ALIDE Awards 2025 and the Bank of the Year Award will be presented. The former recognizes the most innovative and effective initiatives in development banking, while the latter awards the institution that has demonstrated leadership and excellence in its management.

The  Annual Meeting 2025 of the ALIDE General Assembly will be a strategic forum to consolidate the role of development banking in the transformation of Latin America and the Caribbean, moving towards a safer, more resilient and sustainable future.