October 17, 2019.- Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for a series of measures to be taken that countries must adapt to their local situations. Examples are the institutional coordination of the actors involved, the definition of priorities, the preparation of indicators and, above all, the allocation of financial resources that are needed in unprecedented amounts.

Development banking has a prominent role to play in this context, insofar as both the means of implementation and the facilitation of the structural transformation processes required by the SDGs are concerned. As a result, a key issue that must be addressed is how to strengthen cooperation and coordination between regional and national development banks, so as to make the most of actions in regard to sustainable financing and green projects.

In order to reflect on those challenges, the Latin American Association of Development Financing Institutions (ALIDE) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with the sponsorship of German Cooperation implemented by GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ), organized the seminar “Promoting Development Bank coordination for the financing of projects with a strong environmental impact in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

“ We [in Latin America] find it difficult to incorporate those criteria in order to make economic growth more inclusive and sustainable. Given that attitude, it is our belief that the development banking system is in a position to strongly support and lead public policy efforts in that direction. It is in the dynamics of the type of growth we seek where this sector should play a leading role,” Daniel Titelman, ECLAC Economic Development Division Director, emphatically stated at the seminar opening.

“Over 45% of our institutions in the LAC region already have an environmental financing program, line or initiative or some investment component for that purpose in their normal programs (…) For that reason, our institutions stand as one of the bulwarks for helping to protect the planet against degradation by promoting sustainable management through the provision of financial resources or by means of joint initiatives,” added ALIDE Secretary General Edgardo Alvarez.

The seminar, held on October 16 and 17 at ALIDE headquarters in Lima, Peru, served as a venue for analysis of the working relations between the national, regional and multilateral development banking systems in coordinating financing actions, strategies and mechanisms to channel investments toward projects tied in with an Environmental Big Push (EBP) in the region.

With the participation of over 50 high-level representatives of banks, experts and public policy-makers of Latin America and the Caribbean, initiatives were forthcoming for financing and for taking advantage of synergistic relationships among the various important actors in the countries. Contributions were also made toward broadening development bank financing options and the financial instruments available for investments in EBP-oriented projects.

About ALIDE
ALIDE is the community of financial institutions that generates solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its main objective is to contribute to the economic and social development of the region, through good practices in the financing of development, the promotion of its members, through cohesion activities and strengthening the participation of financial institutions in the process regional economic.

Press Contact
Hanguk Yun
Responsable de Comunicación Social de ALIDE
Teléfono: +511-203-5520 |: Ext: 226
comunicaciones@alide.org
www.alide.org