Statement by the Temporary Alternate Governor for the United States of America

Mathew P. Haarsager

1. On behalf of Treasury Secretary Yellen, I would like to thank Colombia for the 

flexibility, perseverance, and creativity in overcoming the challenges presented by the COVID19 pandemic to host these Annual Meetings. We are saddened not to be able to experience the 

warmth and hospitality of the people of Barranquilla and look forward to a safe and strong 

recovery that allows the Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group to 

come together in person again at our next IDB meeting. Also, on behalf of the Secretary, I 

would like to give special thanks to the staff of the IDB Group, who have over-delivered for the 

people of Latin America and the Caribbean during this pandemic crisis despite high stress and 

the personal costs to you and your families. We recognize and applaud your efforts.

2. The people of the United States and of the Latin America and the Caribbean region are 

inextricably linked, bound not just by geography but also shared values and aspirations to be 

prosperous, democratic, and secure. The Biden-Harris Administration looks forward to 

deepening its partnerships with the region based on mutual respect, equality, and a commitment 

to human rights and dignity as we return to American values that work best for our own workers 

and firms, and for the people of our partner countries. You can expect the United States to act 

forcefully to make up for lost time in addressing the existential challenge of climate change, and 

we stand ready to work with you to support sustainable economic growth. We are also eager to 

work with you in addressing our voters’ legitimate demands for growth that is equitable, and 

government that is transparent and free of corruption. 

Regional Economic and Political Developments 

3. The pandemic’s tide swept away conventional expectations for the region’s near-term 

future. Yet those prior expectations were already falling short of the aspirations of the region to 

address entrenched inequality, lack of gender parity, weak productivity, and low domestic 

savings and investment. In many countries in the region there remains deep public 

dissatisfaction with institutions. Few countries are growing quickly enough to produce quality 

jobs, and these gaps are exacerbated by global challenges such as climate change, which require 

a forceful and well-coordinated international response. 

4. The pandemic has pushed more people into poverty: roughly 1 in 3 people in the region 

now live in poverty, with more than 1 in 10 living in extreme poverty. In a region that is largely 

middle income, it should not be acceptable to any of us that many families in the region face the 

prospect of slipping out of the middle class, and that the pandemic’s disproportionate impacts on 

women, ethnic and indigenous minorities, and marginalized groups are aggravating existing 

inequalities. 

5. The immediate challenge remains to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic, and 

to prepare domestic and international financing for robust national programs for vaccine 

delivery. We support multilateral efforts like the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator 

initiative and its COVAX Facility, to which the United States has allocated $4 billion, to deliver 

vaccines to all parts of the world. An allocation of new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the 
IMF could enhance liquidity for low-income countries to facilitate their much-needed health and 

economic recovery efforts.

6. Although we each continue to grapple with the pandemic, now is the time to focus on

building back better. Looking forward, the challenges for Latin America and the Caribbean are 

immense. Secretary Yellen has stressed that the importance of multilateral engagement and 

cooperation in tackling COVID-19 and other global challenges, though we recognize that 

macroeconomic frameworks in many countries in Latin American and the Caribbean may not 

allow for significant additional fiscal support or new programs for public investment. Further 

complicating the prospects for a swift recovery, the private sector often lacks a favorable 

environment to grow. Many countries in the region were in the vanguard to build frameworks 

for public/private provision of services, yet public support for such models, such as for 

infrastructure, health, or pensions, has eroded in some of those countries. We should see clearly 

the threat of failing to deliver on our citizens’ aspirations, and put renewed efforts into improving 

productivity and the structural reforms needed for strong and sustainable growth with equity. 

7. The United States views the IDB Group as a critical partner to help governments in the 

region navigate these challenges and deliver the productivity gains, more effective bureaucracies, 

dynamic private sectors, and deeper integration in global value chains needed to return to a path 

of sustainable and equitable growth. This includes combatting the scourge of corruption. After 

the pandemic, the IDB needs to do its utmost to help its borrowing members compete for 

investment capital which is increasingly demanding robust environmental, social and governance 

frameworks.

8. The Biden Administration has reversed its predecessor’s abrupt abandonment of 

assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. We again look to the IDB to work with us 

to strengthen these countries’ ability to deliver economic opportunity for their people, reducing 

the need for migrants to make the perilous journey northwards in search of better prospects. 

9. We respect the sovereignty of countries in the Amazon basin, and welcome an 

opportunity to engage on the best way to combat the climate crisis, while ensuring sustainable 

livelihoods for those in and around the Amazon. 

10. We support the IDB Group’s valuable preparations for Venezuela’s economic recovery, 

when conditions permit. The Biden Administration has granted Temporary Protected Status to 

Venezuelans who fled, and we salute the efforts of regional partners who have made great efforts 

to absorb the Venezuelan diaspora. The widespread ecological destruction now occurring in 

Venezuela is a prime example of the threat to nature from illicit activities that we must all 

oppose vigorously.

11. The Caribbean region’s dependence on tourism has meant that the pandemic has hit

Caribbean economies especially hard, leading to deep recessions and raising serious concerns 

about future growth. We commend the strong reform efforts of Jamaica and Barbados to 

improve public finances, and support a role for the IDB Group to partner with Caribbean 

countries with ambitious plans to foster more dynamic private sectors and diversify sources of 

growth. We strongly welcome IDB partnership to enhance physical and financial resilience to 
growing climate-related risks that confront the region. We continue to urge the Government of 

Haiti to organize free and fair elections in 2021 so that Parliament may resume its constitutional 

role, and to allow for a peaceful transfer of presidential power in 2022. We believe the IDB 

should continue to play a lead role to assist the poorest country in the hemisphere to improve 

governance and provide for a better future for Haiti’s people.

Inter-American Development Bank Group Highlights 

12. The IDB ably weathered last year’s financial and economic volatility, underscoring the 

strength of its financial and operational framework. Despite the erosion of credit quality across 

the region, the IDB was able to provide very significant countercyclical assistance and to 

maintain its forward-looking base case for assistance. The IDB and IDB Invest successfully 

consolidated organizational reforms to deliver better investments in core businesses and 

approved new Environmental and Social Policies aimed at strengthening the sustainability of 

their operations. 

13. Businesses in the region faced extraordinary disruptions and transformations across 

sectors, value chains, and financial markets—many of which accelerated underlying trends or 

may likely prove to be durable. Going forward, the private sector will play a critical role in the 

region’s recovery as the public sector faces even greater fiscal constraints. We welcome IDB 

Invest’s work with the private sector to deliver solutions that helped mitigate the worst of the 

pandemic’s effects on families, workers, and firms. 

14. Climate change represents an existential threat to the environment and the global 

economy. The United States has moved swiftly to rejoin the Paris Agreement and will take an 

active leadership role in a variety of fora. The United States will no longer be a brake on 

international cooperation. We underscore the important role that finance and planning ministries 

must play in responding to this threat in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB Group must 

be prepared to forcefully address climate change and ensure an equitable and just transition to 

the mid-century goal of net zero carbon emissions. It is particularly critical that IDB Invest 

implement project and staff incentives to catalyze significant climate finance flows, including by 

providing local financial institutions the right tools to on-lend in support of green investments. 

We urge the IDB Group to increase its support to the region’s efforts to combat the climate crisis 

and lay out a clear pathway for alignment with the Paris Agreement. 

15. The outlook for the region depends on its ability to advance an ambitious reform agenda 

that addresses both the lasting effects of the pandemic and underlying development gaps, 

particularly those impeding more inclusive societies that offer opportunities to all, particularly 

women and minorities. In Busan in 2015, Governors made an explicit strategic decision – and a 

capital allocation – that value-added for the IDB Group lay in stronger attention to developing 

the private sector. The IDB Group must leverage its human capital and understanding of the 

region’s challenges to develop a robust program of analytic work that will inform Governors’ 

understanding of the evolving development landscape and the priority investments needed to 

address structural weaknesses and development gaps. Further analytical work will also help 

Governors to better assess the region’s absorptive capacity and fiscal constraints; the 
effectiveness of the Group’s existing instruments, structure, and resources to deliver adequate 

solutions; and its comparative advantages in addressing the region’s needs. 

16. The IDB has supported the economic development of this dynamic and diverse region for 

over 60 years. The United States stands as a committed partner with Latin America and the 

Caribbean, and with the IDB Group, in supporting the countries of the region in advancing their 

development goals.