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- March 15, 2026
- March 15, 2026
Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Ashni Singh, on Saturday urged the Inter-American Development Bank to tailor its lending instruments to the needs of individual countries and expand the use of national systems, as Caribbean states grapple with limited fiscal space and rising vulnerability to shocks.
Speaking during the 2026 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the IDB and IDB-Invest in Asunción, Paraguay, Singh said the bank must adapt its financing tools to better reflect the circumstances of borrowing countries, particularly small and vulnerable economies in the Caribbean.
“The countries in the Caribbean region remain amongst the most vulnerable in the world to more frequent and extreme natural disasters, external shocks and global economic volatility,” Singh said.
“Our access to resources and financing remains limited, while our fiscal space remains tight to support our development agendas. For these reasons, we welcome a bigger and better Bank with relevant and appropriate support for our countries.”
Singh, who also delivered a statement in his capacity as chair of the Caribbean constituency, said decisions taken by the region would determine whether Latin America and the Caribbean can transform shared challenges into opportunities to accelerate growth, boost regional trade and expand investment in climate-resilient infrastructure.
He said the alignment between the region’s development priorities and the mandate of the Inter-American Development Bank Group provides strong opportunities for deeper partnership, noting that the institution remains the Caribbean’s largest development partner.
Turning to disaster financing, Singh welcomed the bank’s Disaster Risk Management Action Plan 2026–2030, which focuses on prevention, preparedness, resilient recovery and financial protection through instruments such as contingent credit facilities, catastrophe insurance and climate-resilient financing.
He said these tools would help Caribbean countries strengthen fiscal resilience and improve preparedness for future shocks, and acknowledged the bank’s support to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa.
Focusing on Guyana, Singh highlighted increased approvals and net financial flows from the IDB Group and underscored the role of policy-based lending in supporting reforms in areas such as justice, competitiveness, financial sector strengthening and human services.
However, he reiterated the need for lending instruments to be tailored to national circumstances, including greater reliance on country systems to improve ownership, efficiency and sustainability.
On the private-sector side, Singh said IDB Invest could play a larger role in Guyana following its capitalisation, particularly in supporting investment opportunities in transport and energy infrastructure, productive diversification and regional integration.
He encouraged the institution to expand the use of equity and local-currency financing to improve project bankability and scale.
Singh also welcomed the work of IDB Lab, which focuses on innovation, entrepreneurship and scalable private-sector solutions to support economic diversification and long-term resilience.
He reaffirmed Guyana’s support for the IDB Group’s reform agenda and said the institution would become an even stronger development partner for the region following the completion of its reforms, the capitalisation of IDB Invest and the replenishment of IDB Lab.
