GEORGETOWN, Guyana – President Dr. Irfaan Ali Saturday held talks with the president of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. Hyginus Leon, on strengthening the role of the region’s premier financial institution.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali (right) speaking with CDB president Dr. Hyginus Leon on SaturdayA statement issued following the talks that was also attended by CARICOM Secretary General, Dr. Carla Barnett, noted that the discussions were on strengthening the role of the CDB as a partner in providing project financing and development support to the Region.
Ali, who is also the chairman of the 145 member regional integration movement, reaffirmed the importance of CDB as a regional institution and development partner and expressed confidence in its capacity to provide the support needed by its borrowing member countries (BMC) in the pursuit of their sustainable development agendas.
The statement said Ali stressed the need for increased responsiveness to the needs of the region, proactiveness in program development and project delivery and streamlining of operations to shorten the period between project identification, approval and completion.
For his part, the CDB president spoke of the work being done by the bank to develop a more strategic focus on resilient development priorities of the region and on mobilization of financial resources which could result in more affordable financing of projects.
