C.D.B. Launches Trade Program in Belize
This morning in Belmopan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade hosted the launch of a trade program funded by the Caribbean Development Bank. The event was part of an official visit by C.D.B. president, Dr. Gene Leon. With three million Belize dollars in funding under this initiative, those monies will go towards helping Belize to realize its agenda. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Isani Cayetano, Reporting
The Caribbean Development Bank remains an important partner in Belize’s economic development. Dedicated to helping borrowing member countries reduce inequality and poverty through supporting inclusive and sustainable growth and promoting good governance, the C.D.B. is second only to the European Union in helping Belize to optimize the use of its resources and expanding production and trade.
Eamon Courtenay
Eamon Courtenay, Minister of Foreign Affairs
“The Caribbean Development Bank has a partnership with Belize that’s older than fifty years. It is the second biggest donor and loan entity for Belize and so it is a critical player in our economic development.”
Dr. Gene Leon is the new president of the Caribbean Development Bank. He’s presently in Belize and met with the Briceño administration earlier this week.
Dr. Gene Leon
Dr. Gene Leon, President, Caribbean Development Bank
“We had wide ranging discussions and looking at our own country economic strategy with Belize, the elements of that, how does that align with the vision for the bank and getting a chance to see some of the past work that C.D.B. has done with Belize on various projects, and I can mention one in particular, the coastal highway that I think is a transformative project.”
On Tuesday, Cabinet met with Dr. Leon and his delegation to discuss the work of the bank in Belize and its efforts to enhance the partnership between Belize and the C.D.B. in promoting private and public investment as part of Belize’s agenda.
John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Dr. Leon is looking at what we have been doing, what we have accomplished in one year and I am quite amazed at how we could have turned around the economy so quickly. That was never expected, not even the I.M.F. and certainly not the U.D.P. expected us to do what we have done and he wanted to see firsthand. Belize continues to be one of the more important, quote unquote, clients and wants to take a firsthand look at what has been invested and what are the other opportunities that we have. So we are very pleased that he would have come along with his technical team.”
While in Belize, Dr. Leon is visiting ongoing and completed projects in infrastructure, health, climate change, education and trade.
Dr. Gene Leon
“We are going to be visiting the cacao growers in Toledo as well and that’s equally a very strong element in terms of helping to reach vulnerable and more, let’s say more places where you have distress, more poverty than not and just simply trying to get a vision forward of a whole program that treats development as a broad-based area that does not leave people behind, whether it’s in the social side in the environmental side, in the productive capacity side and equally in building institutional capacity. So it was wide ranging in that regard and I think I’m very pleased with the discussions and how it went.”
Earlier today, Dr. Leon participated in the launch of a US$1.5 million trade program funded by C.D.B. and the European Union-funded E.P.A./C.S.M.E. standby facility.
Isani Cayetano reporting for News Five.
