Finance Minister Calls for Urgent Increase in IDB Capital Base

The Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, today (July 2) called for an urgent increase in capital for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which he said, “is an issue that cannot be allowed to drag on any longer by indecision and procrastination.”
Speaking at a special meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB in Santiago, Chile, Mr. Shaw, who is the Governor for Jamaica, said that the IDB has an even more crucial role to play in the region, bearing in mind the additional challenges being faced by countries of the region, including small, and heavily indebted middle income countries like Jamaica.
Mr. Shaw commended the Government of Canada for its pledge of US$4 billion towards the IDB capital base, and urged the other G20 countries to immediately fulfill their pledges to assist developing countries by providing funds for the increased capitalisation of the IDB and other International Financial Institutions.
The Finance Minister said that while he supported the observations of some Governors, including the United States and Mexico, on the need for improved focus, identification of resources demand, and governance issues at the IDB, these, he said, should be quickly addressed so that the IDB can be given more resources to help spearhead the economic transformation of the region.
Meanwhile, Minister Shaw will also attend the Second Annual Hemispheric Conference of Finance Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean in Pi