RD/COMTD/AFT/17* 
17 November 2023  
 Page: 1/3 
Committee on Trade and Development  
(Aid for Trade)  Original: English  
 
  
UNOFFICIAL ROOM DOCUMENT1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK  
14 November 2023  
 
 
Comité du commerce et du développement (Aide pour le commerce)  
 
DOCUMENT DE S ÉANCE NON OFFICIEL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK  
14 November 2023  
 
 
Comité de Comercio y Desarrollo (Ayuda para el Comercio)  
 
DOCUMENTO DE SALA NO OF ICIAL1 
COMMITTEE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT – 59TH SESSION ON AID FOR TRADE  
STATEMENT BY THE INTERAMERICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK  
14 November 2023  
 
_______________  
  
 
* In Original language only/En langue originale seulement/En el idioma original solamente.  
1 Documents issued in the RD series are not official WTO documents. They usually appear in their 
language of submission and will not be translated systematically into the working languages of the WTO. They 
are intended for use in WTO meeting roo ms and are attributed an unofficial symbol for archiving purposes only.  
Les documents de la série RD ne sont pas des documents officiels de l 'OMC. Ils ne paraissent 
généralement que dans la langue dans laquelle ils ont été communiqués et ne seront pas sys tématiquement 
traduits dans les langues de travail de l'OMC. Ils sont destinés aux salles de réunion de l'OMC et une cote non 
officielle leur est attribuée à des fins d'archivage.  
Los documentos de la serie RD no son documentos oficiales de la OMC. Por lo general se distribuyen en 
el idioma en que han sido presentados y no se traduce n sistemáticamente a los idiomas de trabajo de la 
Organización. Se distribuyen para su uso en las salas de reunión de la OMC y se les asigna una signatura no 
oficial a efectos d e archivo únicamente.  RD/COMTD/AFT/17  
 
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  Interamerican Development Bank’s Aid For Trade Activities’ Update  
Jaime Granados, Division Chief for Trade and Investment  
 
 
Dear members of the Committee on Trade and Development, thank you for inviting us to deliver an 
update on the activities we have carried out to support Latin American and Caribbean  (LAC)  countries 
since last May.  
 
We have had a second semester of the year pretty busy. In this opportunity, I will focus on 4 topics:  
 
1. Sustainable investment promotion and facilitation.  
 
• The IDB has been participating in the WTO’s Investment Facilitation Agreement ’s 
negotiation; and we are supporting Ecuador’s IFD Assessment  -the first one in the region - 
and we expect to provide support to more LAC countries.  
• We carried out several capacity building activities with LAC officials to: (i) deepen  
knowledge  on Monitor ing and Evaluation with focus on impact into climate ; (ii) provide ad -
hoc training to officials and diplomats on their role to promote and facilitate investment 
from embassies and consulates; and (iii) create a competency standard for investment 
promotion accreditation  in Mexico.  
• We are working with several LAC countries ( Chile, Colombia , Mexico  and Uruguay ) to 
support national – subnational coordination to enable  a broader distribution of FDI’s 
spillovers in the countries ’ geographies and to further attra ct and f acilitat e investments.   
• Regarding institutional strengthening, we are providing assistance to Belize, including by 
establishing a D igital Investment Single Window ; we are contributing to create regional 
public goods to attract FDI to the Caribbean; and we are helping Caribbean countries to 
develop their Blue Economy strategies.   
• As for knowledge products, we commissioned a report to map the state -of-the-art in the  
region regarding aftercare and to identify international best practices on it; and we are 
developing a toolkit to strengthen gender equity in investment promotion, as well as a 
technical note on national -subnational coordination.  
 
2. Trade and investment in  agrif ood.   
 
• LAC is a major food producer and exporter, accounting for 14% of global food production 
and 45 percent of net international agri -food trade , according to FAO. The region has a 
unique role to play in tackling global food demand.  
• Against this b ackground, we are working in multiple fronts. First, we are deploying a 
strategic knowledge agenda in partnership with key stakeholders like IFPRI and others in 
order to identify concrete opportunities going forward. We are taking a forward -looking 
approac h, identifying future model -based scenarios by 2030/40/50. In a nutshell, factoring -
in the potential impact of climate change across the globe, we are assessing new trade 
opportunities for LAC in these scenarios. Moreover, since global agrifood trade is cr itically 
driven by productivity, trade costs and trade & integration policies, we will be providing 
estimates of potential gains for the region if further progress is made in these three fronts. 
This top -down high -level study will be complemented by four r egional studies and two 
country studies under a bottom -up approach, aimed at identifying challenges and 
opportunities at the product – country level in order to define a strategic policy roadmap 
over the short and medium term based on market participant pr iorities.  
• Second, we are conveying two regional policy dialogues to prompt discussions with the 
relevant country authorities and the private sector. One will take place in Panama City, next 
December 7th with the participation of Latin American countries a nd the other one will be 
in Georgetown (Guyana) by mid -April next year for the Caribbean region.  
• Last but not least, in 2024 consideration will be given to launch a new IDB initiative around 
these topics depending on strategic dialogues with country autho rities and key 
stakeholders. Based on the progress made by IDB in key recent flagship initiatives like 
Amazonia forever (an umbrella program aimed at expanding funding, facilitating reginal 
coordination and boosting knowledge exchange), progress could be m ade in this front 
prompting an innovative approach to upscaling financing, strengthening planning and 
project execution and improving coordination and collaboration through public – private 
schemes.  
 RD/COMTD/AFT/17  
 
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  3. Support to strategic integration initiates and programs  
 
We supported progress of the following integration initiatives:  
 
• Alliance for Development in Democracy (ADD).  The IDB hosted the first US ADD 
Business Council meeting in September, where it presented a diagnostic and opportunity 
areas to increase trade and investment in the health industry, as well as regulatory barriers 
that need to be addressed.  
• Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity (APEP).  The IDB in partnership with 
the U S hosted the Americas Partnership - IDB Responsible Investment Forum in November. 
The Forum preceded the inaugural APEP Leaders’ Summit and focused on developing high -
standard sustainable infrastructure projects and deepening economic integration in three 
priority supply chains: medical supplies, semiconductors, and clean energy. The Forum 
convened heads of state and other high -level government officials from APEP countries, as 
well as investment funds, banks, development institutions, and private sector 
representatives from the priority sectors.  
• BID for the Americas.  Launched in September 2023, it is a new program to strengthen 
and grow economic ties between the U S and L AC. The program focuses on three pillars: 
public procurement, trade and investment, and  financing.  
• Amazonia Forever , This umbrella Program addresses local people; sustainable agriculture 
and forestry; the bioeconomy; infrastructure; sustainable cities; and connectivity. It 
focuses on promoting the inclusion of women, indigenous peoples, Afro -descendants and 
local communities; climate and forest conservation; and strengthening institutional 
capacities and the rule of law. Amazonia Forever aims to upscale financing; strengthen the 
planning and execution of projects to generate impact; share kno wledge and evidence -
based innovations and leverage expertise to support policy development; and enhance 
regional collaboration and coordination.  
• Other LAC integration initiatives  that the Bank continue supporting since last update 
include: the Andean Comm unity, CARMICOM,  MERCOSUR , PROSUR , SICA and the Pacific 
Alliance .   
 
 
4. Public -Private events  
 
• IDB co -organized the first Business Investment Forum (BIF)  in Brasilia and actively 
participated in 8 of the 12 thematic panels. BIF2023 generated over 1000 
business/networking connections – this was the first time that a matchmaking tool (financed 
by the IDB) was used during a BIF.   65 countries were present and  there were 50 investors 
from 14 countries (preliminary data as of November 8th, 2023).  
• Outsource2LAC 2023  was the premier event for the knowledge -based services (KBS) 
exports sector in LAC, held in June  in  Jamaica. More than 650 participants attended the  
event, and over 2000 matchmaking meetings were conducted in areas such as software 
development, e -commerce, video games, AgTech, Fintech, and solutions with emerging 
technologies like artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and cloud computing, among 
others. The event's panels explored how disruptive digital technologies are reshaping the 
KBS sector, creating opportunities to advance women’s inclusion and foster environmental 
sustainability. We emphasized the importance of leveraging these new technolo gies to 
maximize the potential of our human capital through collaboration with industry 
stakeholders. Lastly, we underscored the significance of public -private sector cooperation 
in creating a business environment that facilitates the internationalization of the KBS sector.  
• Korea -LAC. More than 600 business leaders and government officials from Korea and  LAC 
convened in Mexico City in October, for the inaugural Korea -LAC Innovation & Trade Forum. 
This landmark event was designed to fortify social and econom ic ties between Korea and 
the LAC region. Attendees, including leaders from both the private and public sectors, 
participated in panel discussions, special presentations, and ancillary events, all aimed at 
enhancing collaboration. The agenda centered on st imulating economic growth through 
innovation and trade, underscoring the importance of joint efforts in these areas.  
 
 
 
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